


Sapphire Road

by dxmichelle



Series: Wayward Wizardry [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Established Nerdshipping, F/M, How can it be the Yellow Brick Road if there aren't any yellow bricks?!, OLSSM AU, They're not 'off to see the Wizard', Wizard of Oz References, shadow realm shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2020-06-27 18:36:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 78,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19796692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dxmichelle/pseuds/dxmichelle
Summary: The plan was simple: head deep into a mysterious tomb to get the last broken sword piece housing the Shadow Magus’s soul before said Shadow Magus or the Death Eaters could get hold of it.Find the fragment, get out, and destroy it before the Shadow Magus could regain his full powers. Simple.But as Harry and Yugi know from past experience,nothingever goes to plan, and when Seto and Hermione are captured by the Shadow Magus, getting out of the tomb suddenly becomes the least of their worries.They first have to fight their way out of the Shadow Magus’s mysterious Penalty Game.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> While this takes place at a future point in _Of Lost Swords and Shadow Magic_ , it is 100% a side fic, and is not canon to the main story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  ** _Bold and italicized text_** : Shadow Magus dialogue.

The plan was simple: head deep into the mysterious tomb holding the final broken piece of the sword housing the Shadow Magus’s soul _before_ said Shadow Magus or the Death Eaters could get hold of it.

Hermione and Yugi, thanks to their course in Ancient Runes, and studying up after the year at Hogwarts ended, were able to read the cleaner hieroglyphs etched onto the walls, with Priest Set able to be a fallback for the trickier translations. The Millennium Ring served as their compass, and the dark spirit within lent his knowledge in tomb raiding in avoiding the manmade traps scattered about.

Find the fragment, get the hell out, and destroy it before the Shadow could regain its full powers. Simple.

What they didn’t expect was the absolute labyrinth beneath the desert surface. The initial stairway down into the tomb led into a main chamber, which then branched off into an absolute maze of passages, each leading into different rooms housing various collections of objects.

Ryou led them slowly through room after room, with Yami Bakura spirited out ahead. Their wands were their only light source as they delved deeper underground…until finally, the path practically hidden behind a partially-collapsed wall led them into a wide treasure room where among the small bags of coins and statues of jackals was the heart of the Shadow Magus’s sword.

“This was too easy,” said Ron, as Yugi delicately picked up the broken fragment from the floor of the tomb. “Not the journey, but…you know. Kinda thought we would find the Shadow Magus guy here too.”

“Take the victory while it lasts,” Seto muttered. “I, for one, am glad he’s not here.”

“It’s weird though,” said Hermione, almost curiously, “With all the trouble surrounding that thing, I half expected it to be on some shiny pedestal or something.”

“Me too,” said Harry.

Ryou looked at the fragment nervously. “Does that really house the Shadow’s soul? It hardly looks like much of anything.”

“I guess it does,” said Yugi. He placed the piece into his bag and swung it around over his shoulder. “We can examine it later. Let’s get out of here.”

“You don’t think we’ll run into those same traps all over again, do you?” asked Ron as they slowly filed through the narrow hallway and up towards the main chambers in the tomb.

Yami Bakura phased out of the Millennium Ring and examined the walls closely. “ _We tripped them ahead of time before. Unless they are able to reset themselves, we should be safe.”_

Ryou nodded. “The Spirit thinks we should be fine. But…if you’d like we can go ahead.”

Hermione cast another silent _Lumos_ and looked back at the room they had just exited. “It’s strange…there’s no indication anywhere of who was buried here. And we didn’t even come across a sarcophagus at all.”

“Maybe this isn’t anyone’s tomb,” said Ron. “Maybe it’s just someone’s collection of stuff.”

Hermione frowned. “I’ve read that belongings were left with the deceased, so they could use them in the next life. What would be the point of setting aside a bunch of objects all alone – and even a broken one, like that sword piece?”

“Maybe whoever was _supposed_ to be left here didn’t get the chance,” said Harry.

Seto lit the end of his own wand and aimed it ahead at the path. “Or maybe whoever stuck the sword piece in here realized what it was and was trying to keep it from being found.”

Yugi nodded. “With the number of traps that we found, that makes sense. Without the Spirit of the Ring’s help, we would never have managed all the way down here on our own. Someone tried really hard to keep it from discovery.”

“And we’ll have to thank you,” said a voice from on ahead. Harry whirled around, wand raised. A trio of Death Eaters stood at the entrance of the tomb, appearing as no more than blank shapes against the harsh daylight. “You made our task so much simpler.”

* * *

Seto’s eyes opened slowly to a dimly lit treasure chamber in the center of the tomb. He had to blink a few times to get the muddled fog out of his head and looked around to get his bearings, frowning.

This didn’t make any sense. This was the very room that housed the Shadow Magus’s final sword fragment. They had already left this room; Yugi had the fragment in his possession now, and they were on their way out of the tomb…

He narrowed his eyes, thinking back. _Death Eaters._ As far as he knew though, after the group ran back inside and split up when the Death Eaters gave chase, he had given his pursuer the slip through the labyrinth and wasn’t anywhere near the main center chamber. …So how did he wind up back here again?

**_Well, well…_ **

Seto was on his feet in an instant. He knew that voice _all too well_. And honestly, at this point, he shouldn’t have been so surprised that the Shadow waited this long to make an appearance.

The Shadow Magus appeared in the center of the room only moments after his cackle sounded throughout, as two Death Eaters flanked the passage heading out. He immediately raised a clawed hand as chains sprouted from the nearest wall and locked around Seto’s wrists.

Seto immediately pulled at them, scowling. There was only enough slack to make a step or two away from the wall. He turned back and glared at the Shadow Magus. “This is getting old.”

**_I would get used to this, Seto Kaiba_ , **the Shadow Magus rasped. **_You will not be leaving my company for quite some time._**

Seto rolled his eyes. “You know you weren’t the first person to tell me that, and that didn’t stop me from getting out then either.”

**_I recall well the mess you made in the Dark Lord’s home, and_ this time _, I’ve made assurances that you will not slip away. But if you feel that your bonds are escapable, by all means. I’m sure my minions will enjoy your futile struggles._**

Seto huffed and examined the manacles again. He was too busy trying to pull them out before, but now noticed an almost purplish hue emitting from them, all the way down to the tether magically mounted in the wall. So they came from the Shadow Realm, not a conjured creation by the Death Eaters. _Great_. That meant he definitely wasn’t going anywhere.

Not right away, at least. And _definitely_ not without a Millennium Item to counter the Shadow Magus’s magic.

Speaking of which….

“You’ve been in my head again.”

**_Considering your initial disdain for Priest Set, it amazes me how consistently you are put out when I rid you of him._ **

“Maybe I just don’t want you running wild through my head again.”

The Shadow Magus chuckled. **_Well. The Millennium Rod is safe in my care now. You needn’t worry about it anymore._**

… _That_ didn’t sound encouraging.

Seto crossed his arms. If he was going to be stuck for the moment, he might as well try and get something out of it. “…So what is it that you want from me _this time_? It can’t be anything related to the past or to Set, because you went down that rabbit hole the last time and it didn’t take you anywhere.”

**_All in due time_** , the Magus said, turning slightly to the two Death Eaters. They each nodded once and disappeared back down the corridor leading out of the chamber. **_We’re waiting for someone_**.

Seto raised an eyebrow. The odds of it being someone in _his_ favor was slim. “Who?”

The Millennium Eye on the Shadow Magus’s mask flared. **_Someone is rather impatient today._**

“I don’t like having my time wasted.”

**_I would make myself comfortable if I were you. In your current position, you have nothing_ but _time._** The Shadow Magus started striding forward. **_As it stands, your fight against the wizards is_ nothing _compared to what I have in store._**

Seto gave the chain around his left wrist a half-hearted yank again. “…I thought you were working _with_ the Death Eaters. Last I checked you were Vol—You-Know-Who’s stooge.”

He had to mentally correct himself. They just made it out of Malfoy Manor. Knowing now the curse put on the mad wizard’s name, he was going to have to watch what he said. The last thing he needed right now was another painful team-up session with both the Magus and Voldemort.

The first round last winter was bad enough.

The instant the words left his mouth, however, the Shadow Magus was on him. A clawed hand snatched hold of his collar and hoisted him up with ease as far as the chains allowed. _**I a**_ ** _m_ no one’s _stooge, boy. Your wizard foe dabbled in forces he didn’t understand. He could have had the_ world _at his knees and instead chose petty chaos._**

With a quick fling of his arm, he threw Seto back into the wall and loomed over him. _**I ha**_ ** _ve waited thousands of years for this. Nothing will be left to chance. There will be no escape for you or the Pharaoh. I may not have the final piece of my sword and soul –_ yet – _but I am still far stronger now than during our last meeting. You would be wise to fear for your fate._**

“If you think I’m just going to stand here and watch idly while you cause more havoc, then you’re sorely mistaken,” Seto shot back, “You think that Yugi or the Pharaoh isn’t going to barge in here to play ‘Save the Day’ like last time? By now they all probably have figured out what’s happened to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re on their way now.”

**_I have no doubts about that_** , and Seto couldn’t help but pale slightly at the absolute _giddiness_ that resounded in the Shadow Magus’s hoarse voice. **_In fact, I_ welcome _it. After all, we both have something to trade._**

“Yugi isn’t going to give up the sword piece,” said Seto defiantly, though he knew deep down that wouldn’t be the case. “He knows what’s at stake.”

**_Despite you just saying he would – ah, ‘Save the Day’? No,_ you _are not leaving my clutches. I have something_ else _that they will want in exchange for the remainder of my soul._**

That statement, doubled by the fact that the Shadow Magus said beforehand that they were waiting for someone, left a bad feeling in the back of Seto’s mind. More Death Eaters? Unlikely, he thought, though – knowing the Shadow long-remembered his flights for freedom during his capture last year, it couldn’t be ruled out.

Voldemort himself? Oh, he hoped not. As far as he knew, the rest of the group was still somewhere in the tomb. After only just narrowly escaping the Malfoy home, Harry was running out of lucky breaks. If Voldemort found them here, odds are they would all end up dead – or worse.

So unless the Shadow Magus was referring to someone completely new, it had to mean that he was seeking out the rest of them. Surely the Shadow was mainly looking for Yugi and the Pharaoh, since they had the sword piece.

Or…at least they _did_. Who knows what happened when they all split up.

**_Not very talkative anymore, I see._ **

Seto shrugged and yanked at his chains again, and again to no avail. “Debating how much force it’ll take to pull these out of the wall.”

The Shadow Magus chuckled. **_So intent on that futile task, are we? Those will not come out unless I wish it._**

“Whatever,” Seto snapped. “It’s only a matter of time before I’m –”

He trailed off, eyebrow raised. The Shadow Magus had abruptly looked up towards the chamber ceiling and appeared to be ignoring him. He glanced up to see what the Magus was so fixated on, but he couldn’t see it.

It was like Crookshanks watching a shadow on the wall. Only Crookshanks was at least cute.

What the heck was he staring at?

**_HONESTLY_** , the Shadow Magus raged. He clenched his fists together, creating a purplish mist around them. **_MUST I DO EVERYTHING MYSELF?_**

The Shadow Magus slowly turned to look at Seto, the Millennium Eye shining rather bright. **_Don’t go anywhere_** , he taunted. ****

And with that, he vanished from the room, leaving Seto completely alone.

With a sideways glance towards the empty passage leading out and up into the labyrinth, Seto started wrenching his arms out as far as possible, trying to loosen the mount in the wall. Shadow Realm magic be damned. There had to be way to get these things off and he _really_ didn’t want to be around when the Shadow Magus came back.

He already survived one torturous session with him, along with the extended recovery in the Hogwarts Hospital Wing. But, just because he made it through once didn’t mean it was an experience he wanted to repeat.

Seto paused as hurried footsteps sounded back through the corridor. Were the Death Eaters coming back? If that were the case, he really didn’t want them to see him trying to get out. The cranky Shadow Magus was enough and wanted a hard pass on the magical torture. And knowing how wrapped these particular Death Eaters seemed to be around the Shadow Magus’s claws, he didn’t doubt for an instant that they would have a way to tattle back to the Shadow that he was making a bid for freedom.

The echoes became louder and Seto sagged against the wall, somewhat relieved. One set of footsteps, running rather quickly. The Death Eaters traveled in pairs, so odds are it wasn’t them. And the Magus didn’t walk. He glided around and disappeared in and out of places at whim. He had no reason to run.

A fairly loud _thud_ sounded somewhere nearby, and then Hermione darted into the room, wand out.

“S-Seto?”

Seto’s eyes quickly went to the passageway. “What are you doing here?”

Hermione’s shoulders slumped as she stopped to catch her breath. “We were looking for _you_ when you didn’t appear with the others.” Her gaze fell on the chains. “What happened?”

Seto huffed loudly and waved a hand. “Oh, you know. Gave a few Death Eaters laps around this maze only to get nabbed by a Shadow Realm demon.” He glared up at the ceiling for a moment and shook his head, eyes closed. “Just another day in my life.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Well, let’s get you out of here.” She held her wand out towards his wrists, and tapped the manacles.

Nothing happened.

Hermione frowned. “That should have worked.”

“The Shadow Magus created it, so I’m not surprised that it didn’t,” said Seto bitterly. “His sick fascination with me gets more disturbing by the minute.”

“Well, I’ll have these off in a moment,” said Hermione. “There are a few more spells I can think of…but I’ve never cast them before. Only referenced.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out the shrunken beaded bag.

Seto raised an eyebrow. “…Is now _really_ the time?”

She gave him a pointed look. “I can double-check the spells properly, or I could accidentally sever your entire arm. Your choice.”

Seto scowled but waved her on, watching as she knelt down and stretched half of her arm into the bag before pulling out two rather large volumes. “What made you run all the way back here?” he asked as she practically tossed one of them into his hands.

“Honestly? I got lost,” said Hermione, quickly flipping through the pages of her own book. “I was hoping to find Ryou so he could use his Ring as a compass, but I found the Death Eaters instead.”

She gave another quick look around the room. “Did they leave you all alone?”

“It’s not as if I could go anywhere,” Seto said. He stopped turning pages about halfway through and turned the book around to face her. “That one.”

Hermione got to her feet and studied the casting instructions. “It doesn’t look _too_ difficult.”

“Good. Let’s get it over with before the Shadow Magus comes back.”

She gave a quick look back at the corridor before waving her wand in the open air, mimicking the arc movement. “Where did he go?”

“Who knows,” said Seto, “He got mad at something and took off. But this is the _last_ place you should be when he comes back….”

Hermione sighed noisily. “I’m not going to just leave you here. One of these spells has to work.”

“Maybe on regular iron, but these were created from Shadow Magic. Not quite the same.”

“I have to try,” said Hermione, “I think it’ll be safer if I do this at the base, that way I don’t hit you inadvertently. Stretch it out – yes, like that, and hold still.”

The blue sparks that emitted from her wand were impressive, but to their dismay, nothing else came of it. After two more attempts, her shoulders slumped and she reached for the books again.

Catching movement out of the corner of his eye, Seto shifted and looked past her. A purplish mist was starting to roll across the floor. _That_ couldn’t be a good sign…

“Hermione you need to go.”

“No – I’m about there….”

“ _Hermione_ ,” he said, more urgently, and placed both hands on her shoulders to get her to look up at him. “He’s on his way back. _You need to leave_.”

Without looking away, she put one of her hands on top of his. “No,” she said, her voice laced with desperation. “Please, I can’t – I _won’t_ leave you to fend for yourself.”

“I can handle the Shadow,” Seto said, and he knew the instant he said the words that she didn’t believe him. “But you –”

**_Well, well…isn’t this precious…._ **

Hermione quickly turned around and gasped. This was the first time she had even seen the Shadow, although now it looked more like a monster than a dark blob with only a visible Millennium Eye. Melding together almost all of the lost sword fragments made him nearly corporeal. Despite hearing his description from Yugi and Seto on more than one occasion, it was something else to see the Shadow Magus in person. He had a hulking figure, which was definitely helped by his bulky robes. Add that to his unusually tall height and wild reddish hair fanning behind him, and it was a rather freaky sight.

It didn’t help that his entire face was covered by that mask ( _without_ even eyeholes) and his hands were larger than most people’s.

Looking at him was unnerving, but Hermione swallowed and raised her wand arm. “Let him go, Shadow Magus!”

**_So demanding. And we haven’t even been introduced…_ **

Hermione glared. “I know who you are, and I won’t let you hurt him again.”

**_HAH! As if you have any say in the matter. Your feeble magic stands –_ **

He missed the quick flick of her wrist, but not the jet of red light that went zooming for his face, hitting his mask with a blow that echoed through the chamber.

The Shadow Magus roared, staggering back, and raised a hand to his face. A large crack ran down the right side of the mask, opposite the Millennium Eye, but not deep enough to shatter the thing apart, and it still sat securely on his head.

“ _That_ was a warning,” said Hermione fiercely.

The Eye flared as the Shadow Magus straightened back up again, grinning from underneath the mask. **_Very good, little witch. But_ two _can play at this game…_**

In a flash, he was gone.

Hermione lowered her wand arm slightly, looking around wildly. “W-where did he – _ah_!”

In a swift motion, the Shadow Magus appeared directly behind her, grabbed her by the wrist and hauled her up into the air with ease, as if she weighed nothing.

**_How cute – the princess trying to save the knight_ , **said the Shadow Magus, leaning his head toward hers as she struggled to get out of his grip. He dug his claws deep into her forearm, into the still-healing ‘Mudblood’ branding. **_But it seems today is not your day to play savior._**

She gasped as he squeezed harder, and his other hand plucked her wand away. **_I admire your bravery to stand up to me, but it is a wasted effort. You are like the peons given to me by your wizard enemy. Without your little sticks, you are_ nothing _._**

Seto surged forward angrily as Hermione winced and reached out with her free hand to try and pry the Shadow off. _“Let her go_!”

The Shadow laughed and turned around. **You _are in no position to give_ me _demands. As it stands, I have you both where I want you._** The purplish mist had completely overtaken the floor as the Shadow Magus gave Hermione a hard shake, dislodging her attempt to pull him off of her. ****

“And what’s _that_ supposed to mean?” Seto snapped. “You already had me to barter. You don’t need Hermione. _Put her down_.”

**_You are a difficult one to collect, Seto Kaiba. Now that I have you, without the interference from the wizards, you will not be leaving my side. I have worked too hard to have my plans ruined at the last moment._ **

With a swift flick of his wrist, he threw her into Seto, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

Hermione sat up, leaning back against Seto as she clutched at her bleeding arm. “And what would those be?”

**_Total destruction._ **

Seto couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Another lunatic bent on world domination. Get in line.”

**_The Pharaoh will soon make the journey to recover his memories. And there is something I need locked away with them. In order to get it, precautions must be taken._ **

The Shadow crouched down right in front of them. ** _I cannot have Priest Set regaining his memories and ruining the centuries of planning I have done. Therefore I cannot have_ you _getting in my way._** He turned his head towards Hermione as the Millennium Eye flared again. _**And unl**_ ** _ **ike** that fool in Britain, I don’t intend to part with and hide the fragments of my soul. Your friends will no doubt do whatever it will take for your return. How unfortunate for them._**

“…You’re not going to trade me for the sword piece?” said Hermione.

**_Not quite._** The Shadow Magus straightened up and loomed over them. **_I have been watching you for some time. It is clear to me that the only reason your friends have survived their little soul-hunting quests is because you two make it so. You are the organizers, the strategists. Without you,_** **they are lost** ** _._**

“That’s not true,” said Hermione, “Harry and Ron – they’ll be alright without me. They’ve managed before.”

**_Have they_** , said the Shadow Magus flatly. **_Without any help left behind? Who was it that protected your little tents during the winter? Or brewed the shape-shifting potion that gave you entry to the magical government?_** His head shifted ever so slightly in Seto’s direction. **_And who made sure that there was a place to escape,_ a contingency _, in case your plans went wrong?_**

“How do you know about any of that?”

The Shadow Magus laughed. **_Just because I am not seen does not mean I am not lurking in the Shadows. Why do you think your first escape was so easy? I have been keeping my Eye on all of you. And this time,_ nothing _will interfere._**

Hermione glanced briefly at Seto before leveling a hard glare on the Shadow. “You can’t expect us to just sit here as you hurt our friends. “

**_I imagine you two to be too enthralled in your Penalty Game to worry about what your friends are up to._ **

“ _What_ Penalty Game?” said Seto, “Isn’t that something that usually comes after losing a Shadow Game? Last I checked, we haven’t played anything.”

The Shadow’s lip curled upwards from underneath his mask. **_Because no one waged war with your little colorful parchments? No._** He gestured around at the room. The purple mist now coated the walls, leaving almost all traces of the chamber behind. **_You all became participants in my little game the moment you stepped into this tomb. The Pharaoh may have won the first battle by finding the sword piece before I could, but_ I _have quite the consolation prize before me. And if the Pharaoh wishes to have you returned, he will have to surrender the fragment._**

The Shadow took a step forward as his hands started to glow. **_I am not so naïve to think that you won’t find a way to return to your friends, or that they will not devise a plan for your recovery. Therefore, your Penalty Game will leave your minds wandering the little prison I’ve devised for you, and your bodies nothing but discarded shells for your friends to find._ If _they find you._**

The reddish-purple aura around his hands flared out, and the mist suddenly vanished completely, leaving the three of them back in the room. Or, _a_ room. The small bits of treasure that were originally piled in the corner were gone. So was the doorway leading out and up in the upper labyrinth level.

The Shadow Magus was back in the center of the room again. He snapped his fingers once and the chains around Seto’s wrists vanished, and he watched, amused, as Seto _would_ have made to lunge at him, if not for Hermione clutching at his upper arm to hold him back. How cute.

“What is this place?” Hermione asked. “We…we’re not back where we were before….”

The Shadow Magus tilted his head. **_Seeing as you two never get the opportunity to play ‘The Hero’, instead of trapping you within the depths of your minds’ darkest thoughts and fears, I thought I would give you an adventure of your own…_**

He raised a hand and a door appeared behind him.

Despite it looking like Set’s door from their soul corridor, it gave Seto immediate flashbacks to the Battle City detour through Noah’s virtual world. _Nothing_ good could be on the other side of that, especially if they were in the middle of the Shadow Realm.

“What’s through there?”

**_Your Penalty Game. A rather simple one at that. You two will have a quest to complete. Do so, and you will wake again._ **

“That sounds too easy,” said Seto. What was the point of getting them out of the way if the Shadow Magus was going to give them the escape route? “What’s the catch?”

**_Your very souls are here in this realm. Should you_ fail _in your mission, you will remain permanently trapped here, and only_ my _magic can alter the state of this place, so there will be no interruptions by the Pharaoh or_ anyone else _. Consider yourselves lucky I left you means to win this game._**

“And we….just have to go through that door?”

**_To begin your little journey, yes. …Or, you can stay here, in this empty room, until the end of time._ **

Seto narrowed his eyes. “What sort of quest is this?”

**_You will have to find that out on your own._ **

“…And how will we know if we’ve done it, then? Or, finished properly?” said Hermione.

The dark laugh was not reassuring _in the slightest_. **_Oh. It will be obvious._**

“And _how,”_ Seto began, “Do we know that you’ll upend your claim. For all we know, we’ll go on this quest of yours, beat it, and still be stuck.”

**_I would have thought that, by now, you were aware that Shadow Games and their Penalties are absolute. If I were to cheat, our roles would immediately reverse._ **

The Shadow Magus shifted in his stance slightly. He sensed movement. Someone was nearing the chamber. While it was unlikely that the heroes had backtracked this far into the tomb so quickly, he didn’t want his work ruined before they had a chance to even start.

**_As much as I would love to lurk in the background, there is the matter of getting my soul shard returned to me._** He cackled. **_Enjoy your stay._**

He laughed again as the Millennium Eye flared, seeing Seto break away from Hermione and make a run for him as he disappeared back to the tomb’s treasure room.

As the Shadow’s echoes faded from the air, Hermione rushed forward to where Seto was sprawled on the ground, after his dive after the Shadow turned up empty. “Are you alright?”

“ _Ecstatic_.” He got to his feet, glaring at the door.

Hermione followed his gaze and slowly walked over to it. The door sat alone in open space, unconnected to any of the walls. The back side was completely blank, leaving only a knob on the front. “How does this work?”

“It’s Shadow Magic,” Seto said flatly, “It does what it wants.”

Hermione bit her lip and rounded it again. “What do you suppose is on the other side?” She paused, and for a brief moment, could almost sense what he was going to say. “Aside from nothing good.”

“The fact that he was _going_ to drop us in some nightmare hellscape doesn’t leave much optimism,” said Seto, moving to stand beside her. “But if this is some sick Shadow Game, and he said there was a way out, then there _is_ a way out. I just wouldn’t be surprised if he made it near impossible to get to it.”

“I suppose we don’t have much of a choice,” said Hermione and reached for the door handle.

“Wait.”

Seto looked apprehensive. “I’ve been through doors like this before. Not in the Shadow Realm, but a…similar capacity. It was a mind game, designed to drive Mokuba from me.”

Hermione looked back at the door. “Is that what you think is going to happen here?”

“I don’t know. But regardless of how this place was designed, it’s the Shadow Realm. It will eventually wear you down. I can resist it, sort of, thanks to Set’s lessons in the Room of Requirement. But you haven’t been here before.”

“Not for more than a few seconds….”

“I know.” He held out his hand. “I don’t trust that door to not separate us, and I’d rather not have to search for you _and_ the way out.”

“Likewise.” She took hold, and after a moment’s hesitation, reached for the door handle again.

The instant the door opened a blinding white light filled the area, making it impossible to see both the room they were standing in, and what was beyond the doorway.

Seto jerked his head to the side, squinting out the light as Hermione clutched onto him tighter. “Let’s go.”

The second they were through the doorway, the door swung shut and vanished, taking the blinding light with it and the room dissolved back into the shadows.


	2. Chapter 2

“I’m surprised you even remember this place exists,” said a scathing voice from a darkened corner of the tomb. Yami Bakura, ghosted, stepped forward into the center of the high chamber and stopped before the Millennium Stone. He glanced down; the Millennium Rod was the only Item returned to its original resting place.

The Shadow Magus straightened and turned slowly around. **_I was wondering when you were going to make an appearance._**

“I will admit, I didn’t anticipate you _leaving_ the other tomb and coming all the way here,” said Yami Bakura, shrugging. “I expected you to toy with the heroes a bit more than sending You-Know-Who’s minions after them.”

The Magus’s Eye flared slightly against the dim torchlights in the shrine. **_I didn’t think you feared that fool’s name._**

“I don’t,” said Yami Bakura, “But my host’s poor decision to parade around on Potter’s crusade is going to get him killed. And I can’t have that. So if avoiding using his name keeps Ryou – and by extension – _me,_ alive, then so be it.”

**_Very well. And where are these crusaders?_ **

Bakura snorted. “They’re in the main annex of that tomb still, trying to formulate a plan to get their friends back without losing that sword piece.”

The Shadow Magus couldn’t help but slowly tilt his head to the side. **_…They don’t realize that we’re not there?_**

Bakura smirked. “My host thinks I’ve gone searching the maze for them, or another trap. But he can’t sense that I’m no longer even in the same stretch of desert.”

 ** _…I see._** The old thief spirit could go wherever he wished and wasn’t completely tethered to the physical location of the Millennium Ring? How interesting. He would have to put that bit of information to the side for now.

Bakura raised an eyebrow, glanced back at the Millennium Stone, and then around the Shadow to see Seto and Hermione on the ground. “…The plan was _one,_ not two. While I’m not surprised in the slightest you went back for Kaiba – even _after_ I told you to leave him and the Priest alone once before– I didn’t expect you to get greedy.”

**_I will not have my plans ruined. Zorc must be revived, and I will not have the Priest recover some wayward memories and stop me. And among them, only she has studied enough of the ancient language to translate properly._ **

Bakura snorted and gestured back to the Millennium Stone. “Going for a repeat of Kul Elna, are we? You’re going to need a lot more sacrifices than just _two_. And perhaps you’ve forgotten – Zorc _can’t_ come back. Not in this world.”

**_Not in this world_ without _the final key._**

“Newsflash, _Priest_. That final key? It’s not in _this_ world. The Pharaoh locked it –”

Bakura trailed off as the Shadow Magus raised his head haughtily, and he eyed him with narrowed eyes. At first it didn’t make much sense, why he had dragged them off to the ruins of Kul Elna. The Pharaoh and the others were nowhere near here. But his link with the dark priest – not nearly as strong as the bond he shared with Ryou – gave him enough of a glimpse into the Shadow Magus’s mind that he saw just what was up his sleeve.

“…You’re going to make the Pharaoh go back _now_? Is this really the time? In case you’ve forgotten, they’re stuck in the middle of a war.”

**_I have waited long enough._ **

Bakura’s eye twitched. _Oh no_. _His_ plans were running smoothly. He just had to wait for this mess with Voldemort to end, so he could keep Ryou at home and finish that diorama. _Then_ he could nudge the Pharaoh into solving his little memory problem. But, there was no telling how his present-day experiences would alter his Shadow Game. Therefore, he _needed_ Kaiba, a strong soul with ties to the past as a contingency plan. Hermione he could care less about – sure she could read hieroglyphics, but after this wizard mess was over? He didn’t anticipate seeing her or the others ever again.

“I don’t think you’ve thought this through well enough,” said Bakura, “If the Pharaoh recovers his memories, not only will he find _the key_ to unlocking Zorc, but he’ll know how to beat him too. And you know once he recovers _at least_ that, those Millennium Items will _never_ end up together in that stone.”

 ** _You assume that the Pharaoh will live long enough to discover any of those things._** The Shadow Magus clenched one fist and splayed out his other hand. **_Think about it – this little arrangement benefits you too. You want your revenge on the Pharaoh? Take it. You’ve been waiting for this as long as I have._**

Bakura scowled. Sure he wanted his revenge, but on _his_ terms. And quite frankly, he was getting tired of this Shadow Magus – another relic from the past that should have stayed dead and buried – stepping all over his revenge. If anyone was going to off the Pharaoh, it was going to be _him_.

A prickly sensation wormed its way to the back of Bakura’s mind as the Millennium Ring flashed. “Those heroes are close to the center of the tomb.”

He wasn’t planning on telling the Shadow Magus that he stealthily pointed Ryou in that direction in the first place. Let the Shadow think that Yugi and the others have been searching that old tomb for Seto and Hermione all this time.

**_Ah. Time to make my demands. …Return to your host, thief. Unless they’ve been tipped off already that you and I have been in contact…_ **

Bakura rolled his eyes as the Shadow disappeared from the chamber. “Like Ryou has any idea of where I go. He can barely sense when I’m in his own soul room.”

He turned to Seto’s body. “I don’t even _like_ you, Kaiba, and I believe I’ve played rescuer more than the Pharaoh has. _Shameful_.”

Bakura shook his head. “Normally, I wouldn’t care that you’re out of the picture. But I have strategies already put in motion, and you make a nice little fallback. But unfortunately, you’re no good to me already in the Shadow Realm.”

He looked about the room again and his gaze fell on the Millennium Rod. “Although…there might be a way to benefit both of us.”

Bakura glided over to the Millennium Stone. “The Shadow Magus may be the one calling the shots in your little dreamland, but his power comes from Zorc. Which means he’s not the _only_ one who can tamper with it.”

He reached down and, despite being in his spirit form, plucked the Millennium Rod from its original resting place. It immediately began flashing in his grip.

“Calm yourself, _Priest_ ,” Bakura snarled. “I’m doing both of you a favor. Now settle down while I borrow your little cellmate.”

The Millennium Ring activated, followed soon after by the Millennium Rod, thrashing violently. “I know you can hear me,” said Bakura. “There’s only _one_ thing the Shadow can’t defeat in this world, and we both know what it is. So if you _don’t_ mind, I’m going to borrow it – _and_ it’s power, for a little while. And by the time that Kaiba wakes himself out of his little nap, it'll be back, as if it had never left.”

The Rod flared once more before dying out. Bakura placed it back into the Millennium Stone, and with one last look around the ruined temple, vanished.

* * *

The sun was blinding. That was the first thing Seto noticed when he opened his eyes, and had to immediately shut them and roll onto his side to keep sunspots out of his vision. After a moment, he dragged himself up into a sitting position and took a look around.

Anything resembling the old tomb was gone, replaced by a rather peaceful-looking landscape. The few clouds in the blue sky were white and puffy. A bird was chirping somewhere off in the distance. They were near what appeared to be an apple tree, surrounded by small clusters of flowers sitting alongside a cobblestone road made entirely out of glittering sapphire.

Seto blinked. _Sapphire?_

He slowly got to his feet and glanced down both sides of the road as Hermione stirred.

“What…” she said, shielding her eyes with her hand as she sat up in the grass. “We’re…outside? What is this place?”

“Technically?” He held out a hand and helped her to her feet. “The Shadow Realm.”

She watched him crouch down by the road and run his hand along the stones. “What is it?”

Seto shook his head, and to her surprise, he was smirking slightly. “If I had to guess…the Shadow Magus got lazy devising this little Penalty Game for us.”

“What makes you say that?” She brushed some wayward grass from her arm and glanced around again. Aside from the cobblestone, it just looked like a rural path, lined with a few trees here and there, and some exotic pink flowers. She plucked one from the ground and rubbed her fingers against the petals. Cool and silky to the touch, and a rather nice smell too. Not overly strong, and oddly different in a way versus the flora in the real world.

Seto pointed to the road.

“A blue road?”

“Sapphire,” Seto corrected her, “How many places can you think of that will use precious metal for road material?”

Hermione wrinkled her nose and shook her head. “None….”

“Right – they don’t exist. Not in real life anyway. We’re in a game.”

Hermione touched the flower petals again. For the Shadow Realm, it certainly felt realistic. Were Shadow Games always this way? “Wasn’t that the point of this place?”

“I meant an _actual_ game. Mokuba’s been working on it on and off for about two years.”

Hermione shook her head. “…I don’t understand how we know _this_ is Mokuba’s game. We’re just in the middle of nowhere.” She gestured wildly, and then her eyes fell back on the road. “…Unless…”

Seto nodded. “His game is called ‘Sapphire Road’.”

“But…how would the Shadow even know about it?”

“He’s steamrolled through my mind before,” said Seto, “And I bug-tested a build of the game while on break from Hogwarts. I wouldn’t put it past him to pull from it to make this one.”

Hermione shrugged. “Well, alright.” Aside from the gleaming cobblestone, the land seemed relatively normal. “That’s good though, isn’t? You’ve already played this, so we know what to expect?”

“I’ve played _Mokuba’s_ version,” said Seto, “I wouldn’t put it past the Shadow Magus to change the story or the environment to serve his own interests.”

“Then what do we do?” Hermione asked after a minute pause, “Should we use Mokuba’s game as a guide? Or just…wander off somewhere?”

“Following Mokuba’s version is probably the safest option,” said Seto. “At the very least, it’ll become obvious to what has been changed.”

“Right.” She stepped out of the grass and into the middle of the road. “Which way?”

Seto studied both ends of the path. No buildings or signs of other life as far as he could see in either direction. One path went in the general direction of a far off mountain range. The other disappeared around a bend and they couldn’t see any more of it through the dense trees ahead.

“I’m pretty sure the Crystal City is opposite the mountains,” he said pensively. “But there was supposed to be a village near the player start point in the other direction for learning the basic game mechanics, the beginning of the story, that sort of thing. It’s probably closer than Crystal City, and we’ll have a better idea if the main objective has changed from that point. …Probably.”

“Probably,” she mused. “So we really don’t know.”

“No.”

“Well…is this the starting point for the regular game?”

Seto crossed his arms and took a long look around again. “…No. The starting point was supposed to be dead-ended along a cliff, so you _had_ to go one way into the first town. I think we’re…somewhere between the two places.”

He glanced both ways again before nodding towards the woods. “That way.”

“Are you sure?”

“Mostly.”

Hermione’s shoulders sagged. “That – that’s not incredibly reassuring.”

“We’re going to hit a town no matter which way we go.”

“But we want to get to Crystal City?”

“Yes.”

“Alright,” she said. “Let’s go.”

* * *

“We’ve been walking forever,” said Hermione as they rounded another sharp curve in the road. Rather than it cut a straight path through the thick forest, the sapphire stones weaved their way around all of the trees in a never-ending zigzag. The only way she could say that they made any distance was that she couldn’t see their starting point if she turned around. They were in too deep.

Unfortunately, the high tree line made it nearly impossible for the sunlight to make it all the way to the ground. They could see where they were going…but that was about it. With nothing but green in front of them, there was no sign of any upcoming village.

Nothing to do but to keep on going.

“The Shadow wanted us trapped here, remember?” said Seto. “You didn’t expect him to make it easy on us, did you?”

“Well…no,” she said, “But I didn’t think we’d be in this forest as long as we have.”

“We could be in this place for a rather long time.”

“I know…but….” Sighing, she moved away from him and stopped to sit on a tree stump along the edge of the road. “I didn’t expect to be tired. We’re not _really_ here. I didn’t expect to get worn out in this place. It’s not real.”

Seto hesitated. “The Shadow Realm is _different_. It’s as real or imaginary as the whims of whoever summoned it.”

“But we’re not _here_ here,” said Hermione, “Just our minds. Aren’t our bodies still back in the tomb?”

Seto crossed his arms. “I would only take the Shadow’s words at face value. Sure, we could be unconscious somewhere, but it’s also possible that we are _physically here_. And the only way to get back to Egypt is to win our way out.”

“He can do that? Completely transport us here?” said Hermione, paling slightly. “I thought…”

“Bakura lost a shadow game on my blimp against Marik Ishtar, and his whole body disappeared,” said Seto, “He didn’t turn up again until the Battle City Tournament had ended. I’m banking on us being gone from that tomb. If the Shadow didn’t want us getting in his way, he wouldn’t leave us around for Yugi or Harry and the others to find.”

Hermione nodded numbly.

“Your exhaustion is probably an overall effect by the Realm itself.”

Hermione looked up at him curiously. “Then aren’t you tired too? Or are you immune – sort of – still because of those training days with Set?”

Seto shook his head. “I’m… _better_ at powering through it.”

“Is that what you’re going with? ‘My knack for working myself into a two-day coma has prepared me to spend forever in the nightmare game’?”

“I wouldn’t have put it _that_ way.”

“Oh?” she leveled him a pointed look, but couldn't keep herself from smiling. “Then how would you put it?”

“Iron will and sheer determination.”

Hermione snorted. “ _Ah_. Your _stubbornness_ is going to get you through this.”

Seto’s lip ticked upwards. “You said it, not me.”

“Well…come sit anyway,” she said, patting the stump. The tree must have originally been massive for there to be room for both of them to sit side by side without one of them falling off the edge.

Seto was halfway to the stump when he stopped, and whirled around.

Hermione shifted and tried to look around him. “What is it?”

Seto held up a hand. He heard rustling somewhere nearby. Was there someone else in the woods with them?

Hermione got up and stepped closer to him. Eyes narrowed, he surveying the area directly ahead of him.

“Did you see something?” she asked, lowering her voice.

He shook his head slightly. It was too hard to see, but he definitely _heard_ something moving through the brush. None of the other trees nearby were moving so it couldn’t be a breeze. Was it an animal moving through the trees? Something harmless, like a squirrel?

Or would it be something larger, or more dangerous? Mokuba’s game had bandits as “easy” first enemies. Were they traveling from the nearest town –however far that was – and planned on surrounding them?

A tree branch broke loudly nearby, along with hurried footsteps. Someone was running this way, rather quickly by the sound of it, and was hitting all the fallen twigs along the ground.

Seto quickly scanned the area around them and picked up the largest broken branch he could find. It was hardly a means of offense _or_ defense, but it was better than absolutely nothing. His two go-to weapons these days – a wand and a duel disk – were both absent, so he was going to have to make do with whatever he could find until they reached Crystal City.

The shuffling was louder now, and to their surprise, it wasn’t an animal, or even a _person_ that came running out of the woods towards them…but a scarecrow, stumbling around with a wooden post still stuck to his back and dragging ridiculously behind him.

“Oi!” said the scarecrow, running towards them before skidding awkwardly to a stop. “Please – you gotta help me!”

Hermione gaped at the scarecrow, jaw dropped slightly and she turned to gauge Seto’s reaction. His expression was blank, saved for the single raised eyebrow, and she could practically _hear_ the gears turning in his head.

The scarecrow’s face was the spitting image of Joey Wheeler.

“ _Please_ ,” the scarecrow repeated, hopping from one foot to the other anxiously, “They’re coming!”

Hermione quickly recovered. “I – _who_ ’s coming?”

“No time to explain,” said the Joey lookalike. “Get me off this post! If they catch me, they’re gonna use me for a campfire!”

“How are you even _alive_?” Hermione asked curiously as Seto stopped staring and shifted behind the scarecrow to start undoing the ties keeping him to the post.

“Well that’s rather rude o’ ya,” said the scarecrow, “You’ve never heard o’ Powder o’ Life before?”

She shook her head.

“Well tha’s the story,” said the scarecrow, and he twisted around. “Hey, hurry it up back there!”

“Maybe if you would _stop squirming_ , this wouldn’t take so long, Wheeler,” Seto hissed.

“Wheeler? Don’t know anyone by that name,” said the scarecrow as Seto got the last bit of rope off him, sliding the post off of his back. “You can call me Jonouchi!”

“Alright, Jonouchi,” said Hermione, peeking around them in the direction he had come. “Who was chasing you?”

“Some thugs from that camp west of town,” said Jonouchi, “They stole my pal Yuugi’s courage, and I had to get it back for him!”

“Yugi’s…courage?” Hermione blinked. How does one _lose_ their courage?

“ _There he is!”_

They must have been too preoccupied with Jonouchi, Seto realized, scowling, since he didn’t even hear the footsteps of the four masked men emerging from the woods, knives drawn.

“Oh look,” said the first one as they formed a circle around them. “He’s found some friends.”

“Alright, Straw Man,” said the second bandit. “Give back the medal and we _might_ not make our dinner over you later.”

“ _Nuh uh_!” said Jonouchi, and he crossed his arms as menacingly as possible over his chest. “It don’t belong to you.”

“We took it fair and square,” said the first bandit. “And it’ll make us a pretty penny in Sandhaven.”

They inched their way closer and Seto gripped Jonouchi’s post tighter. The tall wooden stake wasn’t all that sharp at the ends, but it was better than the tree branch. And he’s worked with less before. Four guys wouldn’t be easy…but he could probably take them if necessary.

“ ‘S far as I see it, since it wasn’t yours to start, _I_ nabbed it back fair ‘n square,” said Jonouchi. “Why don’t you go rob some other guys instead?”

“Sure, sure,” said the third bandit, shrugging nonchalantly. “We’ll start with your new pals first. What do you say, boys? Think they’ve got anything worth takin’?”

“Look at them fancy clothes,” said the fourth one. He let out a crude whistle. “Haven’t seen anythin’ like those around these parts.”

“You’re right,” said the second bandit inching closer. “Look at that pouch she’s got – bet you they’re loaded.”

Hermione shifted away from him as Seto moved in front of her, the scarecrow post held tightly like a joust. “I wouldn’t.”

The first one laughed. “Hoo boy, this one means business. What do you think, boys? I don’t know if we can beat this one. That _stick_ looks too deadly.”

Jonouchi reached into an open seam of his tunic and grabbed a fistful of straw. “No need to fight alone, friend,” he said low enough for only Seto and Hermione to hear. “We can take ‘em.”

Seto had to force himself to not roll his eyes. This, coming from someone who could barely walk on his own two feet and couldn’t figure out how to undo a few simple knots to get off his post? He was better off by himself.

“Alright, champ, we’ll make a deal with you,” said the second bandit. “Leave the scarecrow and your pretty friend’s purse, and we’ll leave you alone. No one has to get hurt.”

“Funny, coming from the ones brandishing knives,” said Seto, “But I don’t make deals with thieves. I suggest you run off before I drag all four of you into the ground.”

Another rustle was heard through the trees again. Were there more bandits on the way? Or did this Jonouchi have more clutzy scarecrow friends?

The third bandit lowered his arm slightly and looked around. “You hear that?”

“It’s a dang squirrel,” said the fourth one, “We’re in the friggin’ woods. Place is full o’ em.”

_ROAR!_

The bandits were almost close enough that if Seto took a step forward and swung the post out he could have hit someone. They faltered slightly.

“That’s no damn squirrel.”

“No kiddin’,” said the fourth bandit, as the rustling through the bushes grew louder.

Hermione placed a hand on top of her beaded bag. Would the magic that enchanted the inside still take effect in this world? Because if that was the case, she had _no problem_ swinging it into someone’s face if it meant they got away from these thugs. While they were too distracted with finding out where the noise had come from, she slipped her hand into the bag, and to her surprise, she felt several books and what could have been her spare bottle of dittany.

_Yes!_

The bandits backed up, and then scrambled back as something leapt out of the dark trees and came to a stop next to her and Jonouchi, growling.

Hermione’s eyes widened. It was a lion, not quite a cub, but also not a full adult male. His mane was darker than most lions, and there were flecks of gold and reddish purple along the edges.

_Yugi?_

“Good to see you, pal!” said Jonouchi, “Wish it were better circumstances, but eh.” He turned towards the nearest bandit. “Four on four now! You still want a go?”

The lion shifted into a crouch, ready to pounce on the third bandit.

“That little coward didn’t seem so tough when we ran off with his treasure,” said the first bandit. “C’mon!”

Hermione took a deep breath and the instant the fourth bandit was close enough, swung her bag wildly around into the bandit’s face, sending him sprawling to the ground, clutching at his nose. The first bandit ran at Seto but had to quickly sidestep the post that was very nearly rammed into his chest. Jonouchi tripped on his attempt to chase after a bandit and started flinging straw in all directions as he tumbled across the ground.

It was only after the lion had tackled a second bandit and knocked a pouch and the man’s belt off that the rest of them scrambled back.

“C’mon,” the second bandit hissed. “Let’s get out of here.”

“You haven’t seen the last of us!” said the first bandit. “We’ll be back!”

Seto didn’t lower the wooden post until the last of the bandits had disappeared back into the thick of the trees and then turned back to Hermione. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head, and to his surprise, she was beaming. “I’m fine. But…” she held up the bag. “ _Magic_! It _works_ here!”

Hermione opened the bag excitedly and held it out so he could see inside. Most of the books that were neatly stacked once upon a time ago had fallen over, but it was clearly enlarged inside well beyond its small outward appearance.

“Perhaps there’s a way to use magic here!” she said.

“Possibly…but I imagine that the Shadow already knows how proficient you are with spellwork and made sure there were no wands here,” said Seto. “As for the bag….”

“He may not have known what it was,” said Hermione. “We don’t have wands, or phones, or anything that would be otherwise helpful here. Except what’s in the bag.”

“So…. the bag’s not full o’ money?” asked Jonouchi, shoulders sagging.

Hermione shook her head. “I don’t think I have any money in here…it’s mainly just some books and other supplies….”

The lion trotted back over to them and sat next to Jonouchi. Seto finally got his chance to take notice of him for the first time and had to do a double-take. _First Wheeler, and now Yugi too?_

“Oh, hey guys, this is my pal, Yuugi. Yuugi this is…uh…say, I don’t even know what your names are?”

“I’m Hermione,” she said, “and this is Seto.”

“Nice to meet you,” said Yuugi.

“Here, buddy, I got this back for ya,” said Jonouchi. He reached back into his chest and produced a medal shaped _exactly_ like the Millennium Puzzle and pinned it onto Yuugi’s fur.

“Is that…your courage?” Hermione asked. “Jonouchi said you lost it.”

“Oh, it’s not my _courage_ , not really,” said Yuugi, placing a paw over it protectively. “It was given to me by the Enchantress of Šwt for helping to protect the Scarletton City from the Wicked Witch of the East. It’s…really important to me.”

“I couldn’t just let those thugs take it from ya,” said Jonouchi. “I _had_ to get it back!”

“I appreciate it,” Yuugi smiled. “And thank you as well! You helped Jou out of a jam. Is there anything I can do for you in return?” 

“We’re trying to get to Crystal City,” said Seto.

Jonouchi wrinkled his nose. “Crystal City? Never heard of it.”

“Oh…” Hermione frowned. “Sorry, we’re… we’re not from around here. Where’s the nearest town?”

“Well them bandits hail from Sandhaven,” said Jonouchi. “They’re movin’ closer and closer to the main hub in this kingdom, Scarletton City, and bringin’ the crime with ‘em.”

“Then Scarletton City is where we need to go,” said Seto. “Which way?”

“Oh, we can take you,” said Yuugi, “That’s where we’re from. Jou and I were out looking for a friend of ours, and we got lost in the woods. That’s how we got mixed up with those guys. If you don’t mind helping us find him, we can all head back together before it gets dark. Ideally, we need to be back in town before sundown.”

Seto and Hermione exchanged looks. “…What happens after sundown?” Hermione asked nervously.

Jonouchi’s face fell. “The Wicked Witch’s minions come out at night and terrorize the land. The Enchantress put a spell on the city so it’s safe – mostly. Ya want to be indoors at night, tha’s all I’m sayin’.”

“I thought you defeated the Witch,” said Hermione.

“We protected the town from the Witch of the East. She’s gone now. But the Witch of the West, her sister, has been out for revenge since,” said Yuugi. “So it’s not safe to be outside in the dark. People have gone missing and either turn up dead or…they’re just never found.”

“Well, it’ll be dark soon so let’s get a move on,” said Jonouchi, and he stared down at the ground. There was straw _everywhere._ “Man…I really lost some weight, huh?”

Yugi pawed at the dirt, pushing the straw scattered about into one big clump. “Jou…what were you thinking?”

“Hey man, we were in trouble,” said Jonouchi, “I was sure I was gonna get one of ‘em too!”

 _Fat chance_ , Seto said to himself. The only contribution the scarecrow gave to the fight was tripping one of the bandits while he was trying to get back on his feet. He spent more time rolling around shouting obscenities and making a mess than anything. But rather than say anything, he simply plucked a bit of stray straw that was near his foot and passed it to Jonouchi, who happily stuffed it back into his chest and patted the open seam shut again.

“How close are we to the edge of the forest?” asked Hermione.

“We’re not far from the Scarletton City edge actually,” said Yuugi. “Relatively, anyway. You’re closer to that edge than Sandhaven, which is the other way.”

Hermione bit her lip. “So…if we had been wandering back towards the mountains….”

“You would have run into a lot more bandits,” said Yuugi, “Those four may have been a little intimidating and not very bright, but Sandhaven is _full_ of criminals. You really don’t want to be anywhere near that place.”

He turned around and started off towards one of the denser line of trees. “I think he’s this way.”

“How d’you know?” Jonouchi asked. “This place is huge, and we were searching for hours before without a trace!”

Yuugi smiled. “After we lost him the last time? Anzu put something scented in his hat, so we can track him down.”

Jonouchi snorted and followed after Yuugi. “What, you’re followin’ some fruity smell or somethin’?”

Yuugi laughed. “Or something.”

Seto and Hermione followed after them both, a few paces behind.

“…Why do they look like your friends?” Hermione asked quietly. “Were you expecting that? Was it part of Mokuba’s game?”

“First off,” said Seto stiffly, “They’re _not_ my friends.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow. “Not even Yugi?”

“Yugi I tolerate. _Joey Wheeler_? Don’t make me laugh.”

“His name is Jonouchi.”

“I don’t care what the scarecrow’s name is,” said Seto, rolling his eyes. “He’s a spitting image of Joey Wheeler, just as Yuugi it to Yugi Muto.”

“Then why do they look like them?”

Seto shrugged. “The Shadow morphed this place. He used the overall knowledge of the game, and found familiar faces to fit a bunch of roles. Why, I haven’t the slightest idea. But Mokuba did _not_ program his friends into the original game. It was just a scarecrow, a lion, and…” he furrowed his brow, thinking back. “…a tin man, if I remember correctly.”

Hermione blinked. “A _tin man_?”

“After a talking lion and a living scarecrow, is that so hard to believe?”

“Well…no,” she admitted, “I just wasn’t expecting it.” She quickened her pace as Jonouchi’s leg snagged in some vines on the path and he flailed his arms out wildly as he fell onto his face.

“You’re not made for the forests, Jonouchi.”

“You can say that again,” said Jou, “I’d rather be back in town, hanging out with Anzu and Honda.”

“We’re close!” said Yuugi, and he quickly scampered off back towards the sapphire road.

Jonouchi darted after him as a small bunch of straw fell out of the new hole in his pant leg.

“Well…if this friend of theirs is anything like Yuugi and Jonouchi…who do you think it’ll look like?”

Seto sighed. “Two galleons that it’s Tristan Taylor.”

“Not Ryou, or Téa?”

“It was a tin _man_ , so unless the Shadow Magus changed that too, I doubt it’s her. I suppose it _could_ be Bakura, but I wouldn’t bank on it.”

“Alright,” she said, smiling slightly, “I’ll take that bet.”

“Why, who do _you_ think it is?” said Seto.

Hermione shrugged. “I really don’t know.”

“Here he is!” they heard Yuugi shout from up ahead.

They moved across the road to find Yugi sitting near a statue. Only when they stopped beside Jonouchi did Hermione realize that it wasn’t exactly a stone statue, but a metal one. _The tin man?_

Seto crossed his arms beside her and scowled.

Hermione chuckled quietly. “Looks like I win.”

The tin man wasn’t exactly tall by any means. He had a cylindrical body, and was frozen upright with an axe in hand and in mid-swing. But the wild spiky hair, if It could be called hair as it was also technically metal and half-tucked under his cap, was unmistakable.

It was Yugi’s hair. But there couldn’t be _two_ Yugi Muto look-alikes running around.

This had to be the Pharaoh.

Seto sighed. _Of. Course._ So, the ‘three chosen duelists’ were here, in this odd little world. Was Dartz going to show up now with a giant lizard and wreak havoc on the land? Was he going to have to partner with this odd trio and save the universe?

“He’s…not moving,” said Hermione.

“He’s rusted,” said Yuugi, downtrodden. “He’s still a bit wet, like someone threw water over him.”

Seto looked skeptical. "He'll rust that quickly?"

“It’s his curse,” said Yuugi sadly, as Jonouchi started looking around the nearby bushes. “The Witch of the East created him as one of her minions when she tried to attack Scarletton City. But he had a change of heart and chose to fight with us instead. The Witch then retaliated with a spell where he rusts solid instantly if he gets wet.”

“So how do we undo it?” asked Hermione.

“His oilcan,” said Yuugi. “He usually keeps it on him, but I don’t see it. It’s possible someone tossed it aside where he couldn’t reach it.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if those bandits we met earlier had something to do with it,” said Seto.

“That’s probably what happened,” said Yuugi. “If we know it’s going to rain, he usually stays indoors.”

 _“FOUND IT!”_ Jonouchi yelled from somewhere off in the distance, and they could hear him shuffling through the leaves on the ground as he worked his way back to them. He appeared a few moments later, with a small oilcan cradled in his hands.

Seto watched as Jonouchi started to eagerly oil the joints on the tin man’s arm, and then immediately jumped back, pulling Hermione with him as the arm holding the axe suddenly swung down, narrowly missing them both. “ _Watch it_.”

“Heh, sorry.”

The other arm, and then the tin man’s legs. Neck. Mouth.

“ _Ooh_ ,” the tin man moaned, finally able to open his jaw and move and flex his fingers again. “That felt amazing. Thank you, Jonouchi.”

“Anytime, buddy,” said Jonouchi. “What happened?”

“I honestly don’t remember,” said the tin man, “I was just chopping some extra wood for Anzu, like I promised I would the other day, and then nothing. Someone must have snuck up on me from behind.”

“Well, we’re lucky whoever it was didn’t empty your oil can or you would have been stuck here until at least tomorrow,” said Yuugi. “We wouldn’t have time to find the oil can, get back to town, and then back here again to wake you before nightfall.”

The tin man visibly flinched. "...Yeah, _very lucky_. Let’s head back then." It was then that he first noticed Yuugi and Jonouchi weren’t his only saviors. "“Oh, hello,” he said, "I haven’t seen you guys before.”

“Yami, this is Seto and Hermione,” said Yuugi, “They’re passing through. We’re taking them to Scarletton City.”

“Ah,” said Yami, “It is a pleasure. What sort of business do you have in Scarletton City?”

“We’re not quite sure yet,” said Hermione sheepishly.

“Hm,” said Yami, “Not a lot of people pass through to Scarletton. Most of the ones that do…go missing.”

Was that supposed to spook them? Seto wasn’t fazed. “Because they leave the town at night?”

“No,” Yuugi shook his head. “They go adventuring. Or the Palace tries to send them after the Witch, and we never hear from them again. So, we don’t know if they’ve moved on to another village, or….”

Hermione tilted her head. “Don’t you visit any of the other towns?”

“Nah,” said Joey. “Sandhaven is the only one within a day’s journey, and it ain’t safe to be outta town after dark. If the Witch’s minions find you, tha’s it.”

“Well, if we move quickly, we should make it back to Scarletton before dusk settles,” said Yami. He placed his axe in the holster on his waist and started down the road.

“Does the road lead right there?”

“Yep,” said Yuugi, glancing back at them. “The sapphire road is famous for running through all of the main towns in Šwt. It’s really easy to get lost if you can’t find it, so the general rule is that if you follow the road, you’ll eventually hit a town.”

“Speaking of,” said Jonouchi, glancing back at Hermione and Seto, “When we get home, we’ll set you up at Anzu’s place. No better spot in the village to put your feet up.”

Hermione sighed, visibly relieved. “Oh, thank goodness.”

Seto leaned over slightly. “You’re telling me you didn’t pack any Wideye Potion in your bag?”

Hermione swatted his arm before looping her own around it as they followed Yuugi’s lead. “There were a _lot_ of things I would have wanted to pack. But that wasn’t one of them. Even magically-enhanced, supplies for six people took a ton of room. You have no idea the sacrifices I had to make over which books to leave behind.”

“Like _Defensive Magical Theory_?” Seto smirked down at her. "And all of the _valuable_ , theoretical knowledge it possesses?"

Hermione shot him a dirty look. “Don’t even _joke_ about that one." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The land of Oz - I mean "Šwt" - is pronounced like 'shut' with more of a 'wh' in the middle. 
> 
> It means "Shadows".


	3. Chapter 3

The sky was starting to darken as they cleared the last line of trees, and just as Jonouchi had mentioned, near the outskirts of the woods was a cluster of empty tents and a long-extinguished campfire.

“If that’s the bandit camp,” said Hermione, taking a look around, “Where are the bandits?”

Yuugi sighed. “By now, they’re in the town. Even they won’t hang out outside at night. The witch’s monsters don’t discriminate between the thugs and the honest citizens. They’ll go after anyone they can find.”

“But Scarletton is safe,” said Yami, “The Enchantress protected it with magic. It keeps the creatures out of the town.”

“But I thought you also said to stay indoors at night,” said Hermione.

Jonouchi nodded. “Yeah. Well, those thugs don’t _live_ in the town, they just fill up the tavern and hang out in the streets. Not someplace you want to wander around a lot in the dark.”

“But don’t worry,” said Yuugi, “Anzu runs the inn, and she tries to keep an empty room for passing adventurers like you guys.”

“Is that what you think we are?” asked Hermione.

Jonouchi shrugged. “Most people who ‘pass through’ are just people lookin’ for some quick coin before movin’ on to the next place. Or they get recruited to go up against that witch and we never see ‘em again.”

“Hn.”

The sapphire road rounded another curve and passed right between two high stone walls.

“Guess this is it,” said Hermione.

Scarletton City was more or less set up the same as Crystal City from Mokuba’s game. Small buildings lined each side of the road, and then around the corners as the main street split off into various directions.

Seto raised an eyebrow. “I can see why this place is called ‘Scarletton’.”

Aside from the road, all of the bricks, the stonework on some of the businesses, even the window shutters, were various shades of red. The only oddball structure was the enormous crystal palace at the far end of the main street.

“Anzu’s place is this way,” said Jonouchi, turning down one of the side paths. He then tripped along the edge of the road and sent his armful of Yami’s chopped wood scattering.

Seto closed his eyes, shook his head, and exhaled loudly. _Please tell me we’re not going to be saddled with this idiot for the rest of the game…._

“Here we are,” said Yuugi, pawing at the wooden door to a two-story building at the next corner. Hermione glanced up at the sign above the door.

_Apricot Inn_

“You’ll like it here,” said Jonouchi, “Unlike the Rusty Knife on the other side o’ town, Anzu runs a nice, quiet inn. Won’t find no riff raff in here!”

Yami swung the door open and froze right in the entranceway.

Aside from a tiny rickety table near the bar, and two stools up at the counter, the place was full. And _rowdy_.

“Scratch that,” Jonouchi muttered. “Seems no one wants to hang out in the Rusty Knife today….”

Anzu, who appeared to be the exact image of Téa, was behind the counter, watching a circling of thugs gathered around a single table, and only broke away to greet them when they huddled around the counter.

“Wha’s going on?” asked Jonouchi. “Haven’t seen the place this busy since Gramps was holdin’ that card tournament!”

Anzu smiled slightly, and then turned back to the crowd, scowling. “I don’t know where they all came from. I overheard someone say that they were passing through going _back_ to Sandhaven, but they arrived too close to nightfall and are stuck here until morning.”

Yami placed a hand on the handle of his axe. “Surely there are other places they can go.”

Anzu shook her head. “The Rusty Knife is full, and so is the boarding house on the other side of town. They don’t all have rooms here, but their leader is off swindling the neighbor out of some money.”

Yuugi glanced around at the various tables in the inn. “Say, where’s Gramps?”

“Oh, he’s around back,” said Anzu, “It was too loud behind the counter, so he’s in the office.”

“Okay,” Yuugi nodded and slipped around the front desk. “I want to say to him. I’ll be right back.”

“They playin’ cards again?” asked Jonouchi, nodding over to the crowded table. Yuugi trotted through the doorway to the backroom and disappeared out of sight.

Anzu shook her head. “No, chess.”

Seto raised an eyebrow and glanced toward the table with mild interest. “Hm.”

Hermione looked up at him. “What is it?”

Seto nodded towards the group. “See anyone familiar?”

Hermione peered around him and her eyes widened. She recognized some of them instantly. “Those four – they’re the bandits from the woods!”

A loud rumble of thunder could be heard from outside as Anzu sighed. “And all my attempts to get them to go haven’t worked.”

“How long have they been here?” asked Hermione.

Anzu sighed. “A couple of hours. A lot of my regulars have gone to hang out at Otogi’s.”

“Checkmate!” roared the thug, letting out a hearty laugh before taking a huge swig of whatever was in his glass.

His opponent sighed and reached into his pocket, pulled out a small pouch, and started counting coins.

“Here,” he mumbled, dropping the small pieces of gold into the victor’s hands. But to his surprise, the hand didn’t withdraw.

“That’s not all.”

“Y-yes, it is!” the loser stammered, “It’s what we agreed on! Six pieces of gold!”

“Your game _bored_ me,” the bandit drawled, pocketing the money and crossing his arms. “The fact that I had to sit here through that was pathetic. Therefore, I want _more_.”

“I-I can’t give you more. I _need_ that for the market tomorrow!”

Seto narrowed his eyes.

“Well, you should have thought of that before accepting my challenge!”

“Y-you didn’t give me a choice!” said the loser meekly as three of the winner’s friends each took a step closer to him.

Seto pushed himself away from the counter and took half a step towards the gang before Hermione grabbed onto his sleeve, tugging him back.

“ _What are you doing?”_ she hissed.

“I have an idea,” he said quietly.

Hermione looked around him at the rather menacing-looking gang before turning back to Seto, exasperated. “Is that _really_ wise? We got _lucky_ in the forest.”

“It’s going to be up to _us_ to do something,” said Seto, “This is probably the first step in our quest. For all we know, that guy is going to be important to our journey.”

“And for all we know, he’s just some villager that made a terrible bet and now he has to pay for it. People gamble and lose all the time.”

“People don’t expect to be mugged of all their money _after_ paying their dues,” said Seto.

“What are you even going to do?” Hermione huffed. “Beat them all up? There’s only _one_ of you.” Her shoulders then slumped in disbelief at the smirk on his face. She had seen it once before, while watching him and Yugi duel on the Quidditch Pitch. He had a strategy whirring away in his head…and in any other circumstance, like a dueling field, she wouldn’t have cared.

But here, in this place? A wrong move could be the end of them both.

“I have a game to win.”

Hermione’s jaw dropped. “You’re going to _play chess?_ ” Was he _nuts_?

“If it gets them out of the inn….”

“You don’t know that. You don’t even know if you’ll _win_!” She nodded towards the crowd at the table, where two of the bandits were holding the villager back as the first one rifled through the man’s money pouch. “And what if _you_ lose? _We don’t have anything to offer them_.”

Seto smirked again, and it didn’t do _anything_ to make her feel better. “It’s fine.”

It certainly _wasn’t_ fine.

He squeezed her hand and looked her in the eyes. “I need you to trust me.”

“I…” She sighed, defeated. It was clear nothing was going to change his mind. It reminded her of trying to change Harry’s mind when it was made up. The two of them were infuriatingly alike at times. So instead, she said the only thing that came to mind that he would actually listen to. “Just...be careful, okay?”

One nod, and then he brushed past two people into the crowd. The thugs let go of the villager and he bolted out of the inn while the chess victor watched curiously as Seto approached, stone-faced, and sat down in the now vacant seat.

“Well well,” drawled the man, “look who it is! Our friend from the woods!”

“Look at him, he’s resetting the table,” said one of the other guys. “He looks cocky enough to challenge you too!”

“Big mistake,” laughed someone from the other side, “He’s even letting you go first.”

“I don’t know who you are, but you don’t stand a chance,” said one of the men to the right side of the table. “He can’t be beat.”

“Is that so,” said Seto flatly. He eyed the board and then the bandit. “Your move.”

“Your funeral,” said Seto’s opponent, moving his first pawn. “I do hope that you’re a better player that that fool.”

Seto didn’t say anything, but moved his own pawn two spaces forward.

“Normally I don’t play without some sort of wager,” said the bandit conversationally. He made his next move and then sat back in his seat, watching Seto and then eyeing the rest of his group. “Makes the game more _exciting_.”

“Fine,” said Seto, without even looking up.

Hermione closed her eyes, hung her head, and _sighed_.

“You know there’s only one open room in this place,” said the bandit, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. “So, when _I_ win, you and your friend will have to skip town. _Tonight_. But her bag? Stays here.”

Seto was unfazed. “What makes you think there’s anything of value in there?”

The bandit snorted and gestured to one of his friends, whose nose was clearly broken. “Because whatever she carried smashed my brother’s face. I _could_ have said that you’d have to leave _her_ here with us too, but it gets lonely out there in the woods by yourself with only the Witch’s minions for company. Since you’re new to these parts, I thought I’d go easy on you. _Just this once_. So, the monsters could have you both.”

Seto shook his head, chuckling quietly. “Oh, is that all?”

One of the thugs in the crowd snorted loudly, “What, you want _more_?”

“Considering he won’t win,” another chimed in, “He must be a glutton for punishment.”

“Maybe I should send Strawman out there with you. You can use him as bonfire,” roared the first bandit. “After all, the nights are cold.”

“Hush, man,” said a different bandit, “I want to hear what he wants.” He laughed, “ _this is going to be good_.”

“When I win –”

“ _If_ you win, which you _won’t_ ….”

“ _When_ I win,” said Seto. He looked the nearest bandits up and down. “Not only do _we_ get the last room, but you’re going to give back the money you stole from that villager.”

“HA! That’s it?”

Seto narrowed his eyes. “I wasn’t finished.” He leaned back also, and mimicked his opponent’s stance. “You _all_ will clear out of this place, but I also want your jacket and that nice coat your friend has.” He eyed the broken-nosed man warily. “And _his_ daggers.”

The bandit laughed loudly again. “Some jackets and a pair of knives? Very well!”

He moved a pawn without bothering to sweep a look at the board. “Your demands are ridiculous. I can’t wait to see you thrown out of here in shame.”

“Likewise.”

“You’re _so_ sure you won’t lose this game.” The bandit snickered.

Seto moved a bishop a few spaces across the board. “Because I _won’t_ lose this game.”

Jonouchi leaned closer to Hermione as the turns passed. “How can you watch this so…calm? That guy is gonna throw you out – _of town_! And you’ll be out there with the Witch’s monsters all night!”

From her vantage point, there were too many people in the way to see the board properly. “Where we come from, he’s a champion player, but it doesn’t change that I’m _livid_ with him,” said Hermione, arms crossed. Seto was more than good at this game, but even his champion status didn’t guarantee that he would end up beating the bandit. They really couldn’t afford to get left outside of town to be monster bait without any supplies.

And despite him saying otherwise…the instant the man said he was going to only toss _Seto_ outside, at least two of the other thugs started leering at her. And she didn’t plan on having to stick around this place alone.

“Well, there’s no chess tournaments around here,” said Jonouchi. “Not enough people play. But _that guy_? This ain’t his first run here. And he usually cheats everyone he plays outta somethin’.”

“Check.”

The bandit’s face, which was rather gloating since the first move, suddenly shifted into a frown, and he loomed over the board. “ _What?_ ”

“You heard me,” Seto said, “Now get out of it or give up.”

“You make it sound so difficult,” the bandit sneered, and moved a knight out to block the offending piece. “But it wasn't. Your little attack is over.”

“Is it?” said Seto, and without even looking at the board, stared right at his opponent and moved his bishop. “Check. _Again._ ”

“You can’t let this nobody get the lead on you,” said one of the bandit’s friends, and he smacked him in the back of the head.

“ _Ow_! What was _that_ for?”

“ _Stop letting him win_!”

“ _You think I’m doing this on purpose?_ ”

“I thought this was going to be a challenge,” said Seto smoothly, drumming his fingers along the edge of the table. “If I wanted to play a complete _fool_ , I would have challenged Jonouchi.”

_“HEY!”_

“I am _no_ fool _,_ ” said the bandit, and he shoved his friend away. “ _Back up_ , all of you. He’s not like the last guy. I need space.”

The rest of the gang moved around and crowded the nearest tables. Hermione shifted closer to the counter as Yami gripped the axe hanging along his hip.

“I have a bad feeling,” he said quietly. “Even if these guys lose, they won’t go quietly.”

“Yeah….” With the herd of guys away from the table, she was able to see the board better. It looked more or less evenly matched. But she couldn’t see Seto’s face to see how he might be faring. Not that it mattered, when he played Ron Weasley back in the Gryffindor Common room, he barely let anything slip past his guarded mask.

But she had a faint idea of how the game was progressing because as more time went by the confidence of the thug across the table seemed to slip away more and more. His grin had long left his face, and he no longer joked with his friends or replied to their one-off comments. His scowl was fully engrossed in the board, and the dwindling number of pieces at his command.

“You’re getting sloppy,” said the thug, after a long silence. He moved his rook to capture Seto’s last bishop. “Another move like that and I’ll have your queen too.”

Seto froze, his hand in the air, halfway from the edge of the table to the board. He had accounted for losing the bishop, and it was necessary to trap the bandit’s king in only two more moves.

But he didn’t have a queen left on the field. Neither did the bandit.

He looked up from the board. The bandit was smirking at him.

Visibly unfazed, Seto moved his pawn one space closer to the opposite end, leaving it two spaces from turning it into a new queen. “You’ve been playing this game for too long. Now you’re just hallucinating.”

“Am I?” The bandit laughed.

“The notion that you can still collect from this bet is laughable.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” said the bandit, blocking the pawn’s progress with his castle. “You won’t get an extra piece that easily. I’m not that stu—”

“— _Checkmate_.”

* * *

Anzu sighed as she righted another chair and pushed it into its table. She had never had such a mess in her inn to clean up before.

First, the thug upturned the chessboard (and the table) once he realized just how many moves back he had been played. His friends then decided to draw weapons and gang up on Yami and Jonouchi’s new friends, and it was by a sheer miracle that no one was seriously hurt.

Well, none of _her_ friends, anyway.

Hermione had managed to slug one of them in the face and Jonouchi, despite being incredibly off-balance, managed to ram a few strands of straw up the nostrils of the man with the already-broken nose. He had staggered back, howling as Yuugi ran back through the front door of the inn, with a few other armed villagers and a couple of soldiers in tow.

The fight did not last long, and the town’s soldiers (two of them bearing a striking resemblance to Fuguta and Roland) made quick work at escorting the gang out.

“What will happen to them?” asked Hermione.

“They’ll probably end up kicked out of town,” said Jonouchi. “That’s what usually happens.”

“Even at this hour?” asked Hermione, “Being it so unsafe to leave?”

“It’s either that or they end up on the street somewhere or in that other inn, the Rusty Knife,” said Yami. He picked up the last wayward chess piece and dropped it back into the box. “Important thing is that they’re not here anymore.”

“Yeah,” said Anzu, moving back behind the counter. “That was a crazy game. Were you worried you would lose?”

“He was hardly worth my time,” said Seto. He raised an eyebrow, surprised, as Hermione huffed angrily and looked away from him.

“It’s a shame they left without givin’ you your spoils,” said Jonouchi.

“The daggers would have come in handy, but they weren’t the reason I was playing,” said Seto.

“Oh, yes,” Anzu reached under the counter and produced a small silver key. “This is to the only room on the third floor. I try to keep it open for travelers passing through. I hope it’ll be comfortable for you, it’s the only room I have open right now.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” said Hermione, taking the key.

“Great,” Anzu smiled. “I put out fresh bread and jam in the mornings. Make sure you stop in for some before you leave!”

“We will, thanks,” said Hermione, and she didn’t bother waiting for Seto to join her before wandering up the inn steps towards their room.

Seto caught up to her three steps from the door and blocked her path to the lock. “What’s wrong?”

Hermione crossed her arms. “ _You_ are what’s wrong,” she hissed.

_He_ was? Seto blinked. He didn’t expect that. “ _Me_?”

“ _Yes, you_ ,” she said. “ _What was all that for?_ ”

Seto leaned back against the door. “If you’re referring to the chess game –”

_“Of course_ I’m referring to the chess game!” Hermione threw her hands in the air, exasperated. “What were you even _thinking_? And _don’t_ say it was just to get this room. Yuugi and Jonouchi were nice to get us to stay at their friend’s inn, but this can’t be the _only_ place in town with a vacancy. We didn’t have to spend the night here.”

“We’re the _heroes_ of this game, remember? The narrative is going to be set up like this. We’re _supposed_ to intervene in these sorts of situations. Help the villager, and he might have something for us in return that will help us with whatever our overall quest happens to be.”

_“Ugh_!” She shook her head angrily, and then glared at him. “ _No_! _This is not a game,_ Seto. A game has rules and fairness…and this place doesn’t. The Shadow Magus trapped us here with no clear way out, and you’re not taking this seriously!”

_What!?_

She pointed back towards the stairs leading down into the main level of the inn. “Do you have _any_ idea of what could have happened tonight? If you had _lost_ that game?”

“The bandit was hardly a challenge, Hermione. I wasn’t going to lose.”

Hermione thumped him hard in the chest, fuming. She couldn’t believe she had to spell this out for him. “ _Will you just stop and listen to me_?”

Seto paused. As mad as she was, there was something else in her voice too. Anything he was about to say died in his throat at the rather pleading look she was giving him.

“We’ve been in this place for one day. So far, we’ve been ambushed by thieves twice. People with _weapons_ , Seto. What would we have done if Jonouchi and Yuugi hadn’t shown up the first time? We could have been hurt or worse, and left out in the middle of the woods where no one would be able to find and help us. _If_ we would be found. Otherwise the monsters that the Witch sends out surely would have found us, and that wouldn’t be an ideal scenario either, since we learned that _people tend to go missing_ out of the towns at night.

“And the first thing we do once in relative safety? Challenge the _same_ people who could have robbed us in the woods to a chess game over the only available room in _one_ inn.”

She took a deep breath. “ _Think_ , just for a moment, _please_. Do you really think they would just have shaken your hand, said ‘oh good game, and escorted you to the edge of town? These are the people with a grudge Seto. And this time, they had their friends with them. And they had weapons, we didn’t. You don’t honestly expect to have been left unscathed, even out of town, do you?”

She crossed her arms. “They could have seriously hurt you just now, _or_ worse. And we would have had to give up my bag, which might have had your only means of survival out there. _In a storm_.”

_It wouldn’t have come to that_ , Seto said to himself, but he didn’t dare say it. She looked ready to clock him in the face with her bag, just as she did to the bandit outside. “You think I would allow the monsters to attack us? That we wouldn’t get through this?”

“ _We_?” Hermione cried, at her breaking point. “ _What ‘we’? You_ didn’t notice, because you were too enthralled playing chess superstar. But _I_ saw the way those creeps were eyeing me. There was _a gang_ against us, Seto. Don’t think - _even for an instant -_ that I would have been given the same fate as you. _Do you know where I’d have ended up_?”

She didn’t have to voice the answer to that. He knew. “So please – _what_ were you trying to do?”

“I’m _trying_ to get us through this, as quickly as possible.” said Seto. “I know – better than most – what the Shadow Realm is like. My soul has been ripped from my body more than once. Even just as we are, standing here _talking_ , the Realm is going to affect us. It’s like a Boggart and a Dementor combined. It’ll feed on your fears and throw them right back at you until you go mad, or worse.” He purposely didn’t look down at her left arm. “The war against Voldemort has already collected it’s toll – and then some – from you. I won’t let the Shadow Magus also take his cut.

“Is there an exit here? Somewhere. But we both know the Shadow Magus doesn’t plan on letting us out. Don’t think for a second that it’ll be easy, or that he’ll keep his word on it. There are going to be tests and traps everywhere, and in places we probably don’t expect. For all we know, Anzu is a villain, but we don’t expect it because she looks like one of Yugi’s friends. Maybe she’s a model citizen in this town. But maybe she’s also poisoning her homemade jam and we’ll be dead by noon.

“You’re right, this isn’t a game, not a traditional one. We have to play to _survive_. And if the only way to do that is to take a few risks, then that’s what we’re going to have to do.”

He gestured wildly towards the stairs. “You want to know _why_ I gambled the way I did?” He barely waited for her to slightly huff at him before he continued on. “This place looks like something out of a history book. We stand out like a sore thumb. At least one of those jackets is bound to fit one of us. And if they don’t, we can sell them in the town and find something to blend in. The daggers are defense. We didn’t arrive with any weapons, so they’ll either come in handy until we find more, or we can trade them at a shop in town for something better.”

“Well we don’t have _anything_ , now,” Hermione snapped, “Since rather than handing any of those things over, they decided to try and _kill_ you instead. How many of those guys did you honestly think you’d be able to fight off before you would be overwhelmed?”

“Enough that they probably would have taken the hint.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “Alright. _Doubtful_ , but fine.” The day was exhausting enough, and she really didn’t want to keep doing this. 

“Do you doubt my ability to get it done?”

She shook her head slightly, making a face. _What was that even supposed to_ mean? “Do I doubt your ability to play chess? Not in the slightest. But your decisions have consequences that affect _both_ of us, not just you. And I need to know that you’re taking that into consideration the next time you decide to humiliate someone in a ridiculous gamble. Because we _both_ could have lost everything tonight if it weren’t for Yuugi getting help from the nearby villagers.”

“And besides,” she added, “I bet that the Shadow Magus is going to _expect_ us to want to get out of here quickly, and he’s planned for that.”

Seto was silent for a minute. “The chess game.”

Hermione nodded, “He _knows_ you’re a champion player. I’m wondering if he made it that particular game on purpose.”

“It _was_ rather easy though. The bandit was _not_ good. At all.”

“It was only the first real challenge here,” said Hermione, “They might get worse - or more _discreet_ as we go.”

Seto drummed his fingers against his arm, pensive. “Yuugi and Jonouchi - they might be good characters overall, but they could be manipulating us into rigged events. Which makes it even harder to trust any of these people, even the ones that look like familiar faces.”

“Then _please_ ,” she pleaded, “Promise me that you won’t just rush into the next obstacle. Let’s think it through, examine all the angles first.”

Seto nodded his head once, reached for her hand, and intertwined their fingers together. “I... didn’t _intend_ to cause you so much grief. I just want to protect you as much as possible from this place.”

She looked up at him, and squeezed his fingers back. “I appreciate it...but I’m not a frail, defenseless little girl, Seto,” she said, “I’m made of stronger stuff than you think.”

“Even so...you _are_ without a wand.”

She gave him a wry smile. “I can still break your face with my bag.”

He chuckled and broke away from her so she could open the door. “That you can.”

She unlocked the door and they moved inside. Seto turned the lock on the door once it was closed again and shook the door from the handle. “This...is not all that secure.”

Hermione turned back, only two steps into the small room. “Oh?”

Seto reached for a wooden chair sitting beside a small side table and jammed it under the door handle. “Not perfect, but it might give us a heads up if someone was trying to sneak in.”

“...Do you really think that will happen?”

“I did just tick off a gang full of thugs.”

“Fair point.” Moving aside, she stepped further into the room. “Oh, I can’t wait to get some sleep. I am _tired_.” She shivered. “And cold. But at least there’s a warm-looking blanket -- _oh_.”

Seto straightened up from testing the door again and turned around. “What’s the matter?”

“Seto?” Hermione said nervously, “I think we have a slight problem.”

Eyebrow raised, Seto walked over to where Hermione stood and immediately saw their new dilemma.

There was only one bed.

“This...is potentially problematic,” said Hermione.

Seto took a long look at it before taking in the rest of the room. The bed was small. They both would probably fit on it if they huddled _very close,_ but otherwise it would at least fit Hermione comfortably. 

The side table on the other half of the room had a second chair that matched the one he shoved against the door, but it was made of wood and had no cushion. A small lamp was positioned on the tabletop, bathing the room in soft light.

A dresser sat along the side wall, with a large mirror hanging above it. A privacy screen hiding a small cabinet with a washbowl and towel was set up in the far corner, but between the bed and the window was a somewhat cozy-looking armchair.

Seto shrugged. “Not problematic at all.”

Hermione’s eyes widened and she felt her cheeks redden. Not problematic? They would have to practically be on top of each other to sleep on that bed! “W-what?” she squeaked, her voice cracking. Thank goodness she wasn’t facing him. Her face _had_ to be redder than the scarlet curtains back in Gryffindor Tower. “We can’t _both_ fit there.”

“We won’t,” Seto said, as if it was obvious, “ _You’ll_ take the bed.”

“No,” she said, quickly shaking her head. “If anything, you should have it. If it wasn’t for that somewhat reckless chess game, we wouldn’t have this room at all.”

“You’re more worn out,” he said, “It’ll be more comfortable for you than for me.”

Hermione bit her lip. “...But...where will _you_ sleep? You can’t tell that you’re going to stay up all night in case one of those bandits tries to come back.”

“No, I’ll sleep here,” he said, pointing to the armchair.

Hermione frowned. “That does _not_ look comfortable. At all.”

“It’ll be fine.”

She looked from the bed to the chair and back again. “You’re positive?”

“Yes.” While he did say he wouldn’t stay up _all_ night, he did plan on keeping watch for the first leg of the evening. Rain was beating against the window and he could hear rumblings of thunder in the distance. The odds of that gang getting thrown out of the town were slim. He expected them to be out somewhere, trying to find some dry hole in the wall to spend the night; but he also wouldn’t put it past them to try and come after them while their guard was down. 

And he really didn’t want to wake up - or for Hermione to - and find a dagger at their throats because the inn didn’t have any decent locks on its doors. 

Luckily, the armchair sat angled towards the door, so he could keep an eye on things without having to stand guard.

“Won’t you be cold?” she asked. A quick search of the dresser turned up empty. That left only one blanket in the room, and it was on the bed.

“I’m not cold.”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s _freezing_ in here.”

“And I’m fine,” he said, lying through his teeth. “It’s probably an effect from the Shadow Realm, nothing more.”

“Hm.” She looked down thoughtfully at the single pillow on the bed. “We’re not _really_ in a medieval-ish village. ... _Can_ we sleep here?”

“I imagine so,” said Seto, “Even if it’s just our minds here, they still need rest. And if we weren’t allowed to sleep, I doubt we would even be tired in the first place.”

“That’s a good point,” she said, taking off her boots as lightning flashed across the window, followed immediately by a loud boom. “...Do you think we’ll run into those bandits again?”

Seto shrugged. “Probably.”

Hermione wrinkled her nose. “I hope not,” she yawned, and slipped under the blanket. It didn’t appear all that thick, but it was surprisingly quite warm. “One day was enough.”

“If our end-goal takes us towards Sandhaven, I’d expect to see a lot more of them,” said Seto. He crossed the room and stopped next to the lamp. “We’ll worry about it tomorrow. Go get some sleep.”

“Only if you will,” she said quietly as he snuffed out the lamp. Hermione clutched the blanket closer and tried to keep her eyes open just long enough to make sure Seto _actually_ settled back in the armchair, but her eyelids had other plans, and she was out almost instantly.

Seto shoved his hands in his pockets and quietly made his way over to the door, listening to someone shuffling around either on the steps or somewhere on the second floor. He tested the door handle again before moving back to the armchair.

And stopped short halfway there.

With the lamp out, the only light streaming into their room came from outside. A lamp post from across the street let in a small stream against the wall opposite the bed, where it wouldn’t get into anyone’s eyes during the night. It wasn’t a lot of light, just enough for Seto to be able to cross the room and not stub his foot into either the bed or the table. 

The light _didn’t_ reach the mirror hanging on the wall. So what was it he saw in it just now? 

He shifted to stand directly in front of it. He could just make out Hermione’s slumbering reflection behind him. But he could _swear_ there was something else, but whatever it was had disappeared. A figment of his imagination maybe?

Seto returned to his chair and sat back. He _was_ tired, but he couldn’t nod off. The rain had started dying off, and he wanted to keep watch, despite the improbability of them being harassed overnight. And there was something rather calming about listening to both the rain, and Hermione’s steady breathing.

He pressed his head against the back of the chair and tilted it to the side. He honestly didn’t expect Hermione to nod off so quickly, but it was to be expected.

They really hadn’t had a decent chance to rest following the disaster at Malfoy Manor. No sooner had they all the ability to catch their breath for more than five seconds did Harry start plotting a way to get into the Lestrange vault. And before they could put that plan into motion, they diverted to Egypt to find the Shadow Magus’s last sword piece. 

At this rate, if the Shadow Magus didn’t kill them, Harry surely would. 

The only reason they knew to look for the next horcrux in Gringotts was because they overheard Bellatrix torturing Hermione over Gryffindor’s sword. A night or two of assisted sleep and a bandage slapped over her wounds was not _nearly_ enough time to recover. She put on a brave face through the journey to Egypt, but he could tell.

Hermione wasn’t just tired. She was worn out. And one way or another he needed to get her out of this place before the Shadow Realm had its field day with her.

He continued to watch the mirror until his eyes couldn’t stay open anymore. Whatever he thought he saw in the mirror didn’t come back.

* * *

The scream cut right through him, jolting him forward. The room was still just as dark as when he nodded off, however long ago that was. The rain had completely stopped, and the moon was just starting to peek out from behind the clearing clouds.

Another restless night. Another nightmare like the others. A failed run on Voldemort’s controlled Ministry of Magic. Memories of his torture by both the Death Eaters and the Shadow Magus last year. Pegasus dangling Mokuba’s soul over his head in Duelist Kingdom.

And the new one – pinned down and unable to do anything but watch while the Shadow Magus tore through Hermione’s mind, as Voldemort paced around them.

“ _You can make it stop_ ,” he had said softly, staring down at her on the floor. “ _Just tell me where to find Harry Potter…”_

The scream had sounded _so real_ …, none of these other dreams came close to being this vivid. A trick of the Shadow Realm?

A slight glance to his left and he was on his feet before he even took his next breath. The cry he heard may have been due to some Shadow Realm-influenced nightmare, but it wasn’t _his_.

Hermione whimpered and rolled onto her side. She was clawing at something – the blanket perhaps?

“ _It’s not the real one_ ,” he heard her cry as she curled in on herself.

Seto quickly crossed the room, relit the lamp on the table and then sat on the edge of the bed.

“Hermione!”

She didn’t seem to have heard him, and instead cried out and scratched at her left arm as tears streaked down her face.

“We’re weren’t in there,” she choked out, eyes squeezed shut, “We weren’t in your vault!”

“ _Hermione_!”

He gave her shoulder a shake and had to duck as she suddenly screamed again – not as loud as before and swung an arm out at him.

“ _S-stop –_ please _, it’s a fake_!”

_“It’s alright, wake up_!”

Seto reached across her and pulled her right hand off her other arm before the ‘Mudblood’ cuts could open up again. She thrashed around a few more times before she suddenly woke and stared at him for several seconds, breathing heavily. Once she seemed to realize she was not where her mind made her think she was, she clutched the front of his shirt like a lifeline and sobbed into his chest.

Seto froze for a moment before leaning forward a bit so she didn’t end up pushing him off the bed. He put his arm around her and rubbed at her back. “It’s okay,” he said softly as she shook against him, “It’s over now.”

Hermione shook her head wildly. “I-I _keep_ seeing her,” she wept. “ _E-every time_ …”

She glanced down at her arm, red and irritated from her nails digging into it. Closing her eyes, she pressed it into her chest to hide Bellatrix’s handiwork, and scrunched up in his hold.

“She can’t get to you,” said Seto, which he realized wasn’t quite the right thing to say as she sobbed harder.

“S-she already did,” Hermione sniffled.

“No, she didn’t,” said Seto, “She tried to break you, it didn’t work.”

Hermione reached up with a trembling hand and ran the cord to Seto’s card locket between her thumb and forefinger. “I-I don’t know about that.”

“She didn’t,” said Seto, “You’re stronger than you think you are.”

“ _No_ ,” she wiped at her eyes. “I-I’m a mess. I…I can’t close my eyes without seeing that place. Or her standing over me w-with her knife. I’m not _strong_ enough to get through it…not like you can…”

Seto couldn’t help but chuckle as he continued to soothe her back spasms from her crying so hard. “Anyone who tells you that these experiences don’t affect them are liars.”

Hermione sniffed and looked up at him.

“ _No one_ can go through the trauma that you have and come out perfectly fine in the end.”

“But you….”

“ _Still_ flashback to last year, or any of the infuriating crises that occurred while running around with Yugi.”

She shuddered. That wasn’t quite the encouragements she was hoping for…. “D-does it ever go away?”

Seto paused. Comforting was not his strong suit. “It never goes away. But…” he reworded the thoughts in his head as she clung to him. “…In time, it will affect you _less_.”

“I-is that…how you got over things? That happened before?”

Seto gave her a dry smile. “I compartmentalize and hold long-term grudges. My coping methods aren’t exactly _healthy_.”

She sighed.

Seto took a quick glance towards the mirror, and then the window. Still no sign of whatever he thought he saw, and the sky was still pitch-black.

He shifted away from her. “I don’t know what time it really is, but we should probably try and get _some_ rest. Tomorrow will probably be more involved than today was.”

Hermione made an almost-strangled noise. “I don’t think I can now…” To her surprise, he blew the lamp out again and sat back, not in the chair like he did before, but on the bed, and she sat up straighter, surprised. “Wait-what are you doing?”

“Taking my boots off.”

“No, not _that_ …”

“I’m going to stay here with you until you fall back to sleep.”

She inched over, surprised, as he settled down beside her. “There’s _barely_ enough room for you.”

“It’s fine.”

Seto leaned forward and drew the blanket back up over them. He put his left arm around her, and she snuggled up against him. She shifted again to get comfortable and immediately withdrew back as he started coughing.

“A-are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he rasped, “Just got a face full of your hair.”

“ _Oh_!” She flushed, gathering her long curls around her other shoulder and resettled. “Better?”

“I can breathe. That’s a plus.”

Hermione sighed, and rubbed her right thumb against her left arm. She couldn’t see it in the dark, but she felt the knife marks in her skin. “I don’t see how this is going to be any different,” she said, resigned. “She’ll be there again if I go back to sleep.”

“Most likely,” Seto said matter-of-factly, and she shuddered against him. “The Shadow Realm knows you’re scared, and is going to feed off of it.”

“I – I can’t go through it again,” she moaned. “I _can’t_.”

Seto reached over and gently moved her right hand away before she started unconsciously picking at the letters again. “Just relax.”

She hugged him tighter. “I want to…I really do. I…I just –” She reached over and tucked his locket back under his collar so the corner of it wouldn’t accidentally poke her in the eye. “…I need something to distract me from her.”

He was glad she seemed to be calming down overall now. Her body had stopped shaking for the most part, and while her eyes had to be red and puffy at this point, the tears had mostly dried. They really needed to make the most of what was left in this night. At this point, he felt he could fall back to sleep rather easily, returning nightmares be damned. It wouldn’t be the first time he slogged through it.

Hermione was another story. But really, this was no different than Mokuba’s early nightmares following Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, and he had an idea.

“Breathe with me,” he said, stroking his thumb along the back of her hand. “Just try to relax, and I’ll tell you a story.”

“A-about what?”

“Mokuba’s game.”

“Mm,” she murmured, and adjusted the blanket back over her shoulders. “You’re going to spoil the story to me?”

“If all goes well, you won’t remember much of anything by morning.”

“…Alright…tell me about the hero’s journey.”

Seto repositioned his arm around her so it wouldn’t end up going numb, and began recounting the opening story text from memory. He described the three different classes of character that the player can choose upon starting the game, up through the opening cutscenes with the character at the starting point. How they saved a mysterious NPC from bandits on the route to the ‘tutorial town’ before getting the nudge to wander off to the Crystal City.

By the time he would have gotten to the main character arriving in Crystal City, they were both asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

By morning, any and all traces of the previous night’s storm were gone. The sun rose over the top of the distant mountains and across Šwt, streaming daylight through the east-facing windows of the Apricot Inn.

Hermione squeezed her shut eyes against the sun and turned her head away. Morning already? She could have sworn that they had fallen asleep not too long ago. But thankfully, after curling up with Seto and listening to the story of Mokuba’s game to nod back to sleep, the nightmares didn’t return.

She shifted, and lifted her head from his chest. His arm was wrapped around her still, and he appeared to be out. Did he sleep alright too? Or did the Shadow Realm pick its way through his mind as well?

Sighing, she laid her head back down on him again. He usually was the early riser, and was up and looking over the books on Horcruxes or checking in at home before anyone else in the tent. Perhaps the Shadow Realm affected him more yesterday than he made it sound.

As much as she wanted to get the day started, it didn’t seem right to wake him. There was no telling what their day would entail. The group of thugs could be waiting around outside for them. Yuugi or Jonouchi might need help with something else, and take them on some sort of adventure out of town. For all she knew, the witch or her minions could attack them. It was best to take the extra time out and rest before rushing out into trouble.

He tilted his head towards her, eyes open. “Morning.”

Startled, she sat up, letting his arm drop back onto the blanket in a soft _thump_. “Oh,” she said, her face flushed, “Did I wake you?”

Seto shook his head slightly and shifted to sit up against the headboard. “I was up for a while. Did you sleep?”

Hermione nodded. “I think so, finally.” She eyed him curiously. “Did you?”

“Well enough.”

That could mean a great number of things, and judging by the tone of his voice, it didn’t sound like he got nearly as much rest as she did. She sighed. “How long have you been awake?”

“Probably an hour, maybe more” he guessed, “I don’t have an exact way to tell time. But it’s fine.”

She pulled a face. He probably got as much sleep over the last couple of days as she did, and that didn’t say a whole lot.

“We don’t have to get up right away,” she said after a pause. “If you want to stay in….”

Seto shook his head. “We should really get started. If there’s the chance we could end up traveling away from this place, I’d rather not get stranded outside come nightfall.”

Well, she tried. “Alright.” Hermione slid off the bed and wandered towards the washbowl behind the privacy screen.

Seto got up and stretched the kink out of his neck. The bed was hardly enough room for the both of them, and he was more worried about her getting through the night than his own comfort. The stiffness was annoying now, but by the time they left Anzu’s inn, it wouldn’t be much more than a memory.

He hoped so, at least.

Hermione was still at the sink when he caught a fleck of blue in the mirror. He couldn’t tell exactly what it was. It had an almost wispy form.

But it was gone by the time he was standing directly in front of it.

“What is it?” asked Hermione. She moved to stand beside him and ran her fingers through her hair to ease the tangles out.

“I could have sworn I saw something in the mirror. Twice, the first time was after you went to bed last night, and then just now.”

Hermione furrowed her brow and looked both through the mirror, and then behind her. “I don’t see anything now. What was it?”

“I have no idea,” said Seto, “It was almost like a ghost, but whatever, or _whoever_ it was, they don’t like to linger around.”

“Perhaps the Shadow Realm is playing tricks on _you_ now,” she said.

Seto shrugged and moved to get his shoes. His eyes kept darting back to the mirror, but he didn’t see the blue wisp again.

Hermione reached for her beaded bag, sitting idly on the bedside table and gasped. “Oh! What’s this?”

“What?”

“…I don’t remember this being here before,” she said, and twisted around to face him. In her hand was an emerald key.

“Where did that come from?”

“I have no idea,” she said, “I swear it wasn’t here last night when we got in. And it didn’t fall out of my bag. I’ve never seen it before.”

Hermione bit her lip and looked up at him. “You don’t think someone came in during the night and left it here for us, do you?”

 _Impossible_ , he said to himself. He wasn’t asleep _that_ soundly to miss someone walking right into their room. He would have heard them coming through the door.

He crossed the room and faced the exit. “No one was here,” he said, “The chair I put under the doorknob is still in place. Even _if_ someone managed to get in without us knowing, they wouldn’t be able to put the chair back on their way out.”

“Then how did it get here?” she asked.

Seto crossed his arms. “You’re positive it wasn’t there last night? You _were_ rather tired. Maybe you missed it.”

She bit her lip, _certain_ that it hadn’t been there yesterday. But he was right too. It was possible she missed it entirely. “I suppose….”

With a quick glance around to make sure nothing was left behind; they left the room and made their way back downstairs to the lobby.

There were only a few people scattered among the tables near the inn’s bar when Seto dropped their room key lightly onto the counter.

“Good morning!” said Anzu brightly, “Sleep well?”

“Yes,” said Hermione, “Thanks for letting us stay.”

“No, _thank you_ for getting all those Sandhaven thugs out of here,” said Anzu, “It’s the least I could do.”

“Speaking of…” Seto took a cursory glance around the inn. “Are they still in town?”

Anzu sighed. “Unfortunately. But they haven’t been back this way, so I’ll take it.” She propped her elbows up on the desk. “So…Yuugi and Jonouchi said you two were adventurers…”

“You could say that,” said Seto. “What is there to do in this place?”

Anzu pointed in the town center’s general direction. “There’s a big notice board at the end of the street. Anyone who needs help with something usually posts a bulletin. Some of the tasks give a pretty decent reward too.”

“We’ll check them out,” said Seto. “Thanks.”

“Oh, wait,” said Hermione. She held out the emerald key. “We found this in the room. Have you ever seen this before?”

Anzu picked it up and turned it over in her hands. “That’s interesting,” she said. “Who would go through the trouble of making a key out of emeralds?”

“So you don’t know anything about it?” said Seto.

“Unfortunately not,” said Anzu. She handed the key back to Hermione. “It must have belonged to the last traveler who passed through, and that was a while ago.”

Seto crossed his arms. “No emerald doors around here, I’m guessing.”

Anzu shrugged. “You might not have noticed yet, but emeralds are fairly scarce in this town. Now if this were a ruby key….”

Hermione took a last look at the key before stashing it away again in her pocket. “If it belonged to someone passing through town, maybe it doesn’t go to anything here in Scarletton City.”

“More than likely,” said Seto, “I doubt there’s anything important behind it.”

Anzu smiled. “Well, is there anything you need? Do you need to keep your room another day?”

“Oh…” said Hermione. “We don’t have money.” It was very nice of Anzu to let them stay the night for free, but she couldn’t expect her to do the same tonight too.

“But you two seem pretty able-bodied,” said Anzu. “I’m sure you could help a few neighbors out. I know the general store has needed someone to check up on a missing shipment for a while now.”

Seto drummed his fingers against the counter. “These other adventurers who pass through here, and don’t seem to come back. What do _they_ do in town?”

“They visit the Enchantress,” said Anzu, shrugging. “She’s in the Crystal Palace. No one really knows what happens afterwards. Some people think she magically transports them to where they need to go, because only Sandhaven is close enough to get to in a day’s time.”

“Has no one asked her?” said Hermione.

Anzu shrugged. “Not really.”

Hermione looked up at Seto. “Perhaps it’s worth paying her a visit.”

“Or you can visit City Hall,” said Anzu. “Usually, if someone there needs help, they pay a little bit more because it’s considered official town business.”

“Where is City Hall?” asked Seto.

“It’s the large mansion-like building past the Palace,” said Anzu. “The only _other_ place besides the Palace that isn’t made of red brick, though the main doors _are_ made of rubies.”

“We’ll check it out,” said Seto.

Hermione turned back and smiled at Anzu. “Thanks for all of your help!”

“You’re welcome,” Anzu beamed. “But before you leave, I have something for you!”

She disappeared into the back for a few minutes and reemerged a minute or two later, with a small bundle wrapped up in a cloth in her hands. “Some leftovers from breakfast this morning. I packed up some rolls and a little jar of jam, and there’s some fruit and cheese in there too, in case you get hungry.”

“That’s very sweet of you,” said Hermione, “You didn’t have to go through all of the trouble.”

“It’s no trouble at all!” said Anzu, “Towns are pretty sparse around here, so hopefully that helps keep you guys going until you reach one.”

She waved them off with a smile. “Good luck on your journey! Feel free to come on back anytime!”

Hermione forced the bundle into her bag as they headed up the street. “That was rather generous of her.”

“Sure,” said Seto, his voice flat. “Or it’s poisoned.”

Hermione sighed. “I was trying to be positive.”

“And I’m being practical,” said Seto. “We don’t know where the next trap is going to be or when it’s going to show up. And I would rather go down trying to get rid of the Shadow Magus and not by spiked bread.”

The notice board, like Anzu had said, was littered in announcements and calls for help.

“Oh, look,” said Hermione, pointing to one of the ones in a lower corner. “Someone lost their cat in the woods!” She bit her lip and looked up at Seto, grinning. “You think that’s our ultimate goal?”

Seto snorted. “Somehow I doubt it.” His eyes raked over some of the other messages. “The missing shipment isn’t even on this board. Someone must have taken it up already.”

“Maybe the shop owner didn’t post it here,” said Hermione. “Why? Was it something you were planning on doing?”

Seto shook his head. “Not quite. Just an observation.”

“Someone named…Shizuka needs help corralling a bunch of animals,” Hermione said, reading through a few more notices, “And…it looks like if you mine some rubies in the mountains, the jeweler will reward you with…rings?”

“Accessories will give various stat bonuses,” said Seto, and he frowned at the notice board. “These are all rather mundane. I don’t see how our endgame goal is going to be any of these. Our best bet is to go to speak with this Enchantress that everyone’s been raving about.”

“Is that what happened in Mokuba’s game?”

“Mokuba’s game didn’t have that character,” said Seto. “The main character was able to move freely from town to town and pick up a number of quests from the central NPC in each locale. The overall story was given in chunks at the player’s pace. But that doesn’t seem to be the case here.”

“Hm,” Hermione mused as they moved away from the message board. The town seemed to be much more alive now that the sun was up. Shopkeepers were setting up their displays and people were starting to leave their homes and begin their days. She took a look around at the nearby townspeople and then down at herself.

They really did stick out. Now she understood Seto’s want to blend in. With the bandits still in town somewhere, it would be ridiculously easy to pick them out of a crowd.

“So…since the Enchantress doesn’t appear in Mokuba’s version of the game, you think she has our objective?”

“I can only assume so,” said Seto. “At the very least, we should be able to find out what happens to the people who go missing.”

 _Wait a minute_. Hermione reached out for Seto’s arm and tugged him over to the side of the road, towards an alleyway between two houses. “Hang on,” she said, furrowing her brow. “What if that’s the trap?”

“What?” Seto crossed his arms.

“The story itself,” said Hermione. “Is this witch part of the original story?”

Seto shook his head. “That makes me think it’s part of our objective.”

“That’s what I mean,” said Hermione, biting her lower lip again. “We only know of this town’s troubles with the witch from what Yuugi and the others have told us. We’ve never _seen_ the witch’s monsters, _or_ the witch. What if she’s not the enemy?”

“Are you saying that the Enchantress might be the villain instead?”

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. But this isn’t some arcade game keeping track of all of the players that made an honest shot before us. What if no one else _really_ went missing, and this whole thing is a fabrication to get us out of town?”

Seto looked up and down the street. “It’s possible. While he didn’t give us any direction on what we’re supposed to do, I would like to think the Shadow Magus would at least make it obvious of the push we needed.”

Hermione gave him a pointed look. “This is the same demon that assaulted your mind _how many times_? Who, may I add, also assisted in mentally tearing you apart in order to get you under an Imperius Curse for V-Voldemort, _and_ used you as bait to try and kill Yugi _and_ the Pharaoh’s spirit. Do you _really_ think he would make any of this easy for us?”

“No,” said Seto, “I know he wouldn’t. The whole point is to hole us up in here while he does who-knows-what in the real world. But I also know he took a great deal of satisfaction in watching me suffer. I wouldn’t put it past him to be hiding in here with us, watching our every move.”

“If that’s the case…” Hermione took a slow sweeping gaze around the street, “…he could be anywhere. Or anyone.”

“He may not even be in this city,” said Seto. “We may not have stumbled upon him yet. Or he may not be here at all.”

He sighed. “I can only go by what the Shadow Magus has changed. The witch is different. So is this Enchantress woman. Something about them is important, and we won’t figure out what it all means unless we pay a visit to the Palace. And if it means taking on the supposed ‘adventurer mission’, then we’ll have to do it.”

Hermione nodded. “…Alright. But smartly this time. Let’s… _not_ repeat last night.”

They started moving again, following the sapphire road around a corner. The Crystal Palace stood at the road’s far end, towering over all of the other nearby buildings. As they approached, Hermione noticed that the number of villagers in the area continued to thin out the closer they got to the main doors. Was there a reason no one seemed to venture to this area of the city?

It didn’t make much sense to her. The sides of the roads were lined with short trees and pretty landscaping. This didn’t seem like a part of town people should avoid. So where was everyone?

They climbed the stairs leading up, and Seto noted curiously the crystal dragon statues that flanked the main doors.

 _Blue Eyes White Dragon_ statues.

Interesting.

“HALT!”

Seto froze on the top step. He recognized that voice _all too well_.

Hermione whirled around. Standing at the base of the steps was a man in a guard’s uniform. He was tall, at least as tall as Seto, and rather largely built. In a way he reminded her of Cormac McLaggen, only instead of his short wavy hair, it was styled almost like Yugi’s friend Tristan’s pointy ‘do. Only much longer.

She glanced over, puzzled, as Seto slowly turned around, eyes narrowed. His jaw was locked and his hands balled into fists. It was clear he recognized this person. But who was it?

“What are you two doing?” asked the guard.

“W-we’re here to see the Enchantress,” said Hermione, when it was clear Seto wasn’t going to say anything. He was too busy glaring at the man.

The guard snorted. “She’s not in. Whatever you need, it can go through the Mayor’s office.” He raised his fist and gestured with his thumb further down the road. “This way.”

Hermione started back down the Palace steps, but stopped a few steps down when she realized Seto hadn’t made a move to follow after her. He was still glaring down at the guard.

“Seto,” she said, but he didn’t seem to hear her. Both he and the guard were just…staring at each other. Sighing, she went back up and looped her arm around his.

“Seto,” she said again, quietly, and tugged his arm towards the staircase. It seemed to break him out of his angry funk, and she gave him a meek smile. “Come on.”

Upon reaching the bottom step, the guard sneered and started up the street.

Hermione tightened her arm around Seto’s as they followed after him, a good several paces behind. “What’s the matter?” she asked. “You’re acting like you just saw the Shadow Magus.”

Seto’s jaw twitched as he made a heavy sigh. “Let’s just say of all the people we know that the Shadow Magus dumped in here, he was probably the _last_ person I expected to see.”

“Why?” she asked. “Who is he?”

“ _Kemo_ ,” Seto said bitterly, “Is someone I haven’t seen in years.”

He scowled. “He was a bodyguard, working for my stepfather and the company’s board of directors at the time. Make a long story short, he kidnapped Mokuba in a corporate takeover plot and tried to kill me. Twice. And when that mess resolved itself, he just disappeared.”

“Just like that?”

“The board of directors were overthrown once they were caught. Their _second_ trap for me backfired in their faces, but no one ever found Kemo.”

Hermione stared at the back of Kemo’s head. “It’s not _really_ him though. None of these people you recognize are actually here, remember? They’re just faces playing a role.”

“There _has_ to be a reason why the Shadow Magus chose _these_ people over others,” said Seto. “Yugi and Wheeler being heroic sidekicks? An ex bodyguard is a soldier in the town?”

“Do you think he’d be up to no good here?”

“I don’t see any other reason for him being here,” Seto muttered. “The Shadow Magus pulled likenesses of them all from my mind. I don’t really have any _good_ memories of Kemo.”

“He _is_ just taking us to see the Mayor though,” said Hermione. “Perhaps the Mayor will have some idea of what we need to do.”

“Hn.” Seto didn’t sound incredibly convinced.

The Kemo lookalike stopped outside the entrance to City Hall. “The Mayor is expecting you.”

Seto stopped abruptly. “ _Why?_ ”

“It’s not often that visitors cause a ruckus in town on their first day.” He opened the door and gestured inside.

Once again, Hermione started moving before Seto did, and tugging his arm forward didn’t make get him to move. Seto merely stood, glaring not at Kemo, but the building. And it was the same severe look he had on his face when the Kemo guard stopped them from entering the Palace.

What did he see this time?

But unlike before, she didn’t have to force him to move. After a minute of staring at the building, he stormed through the doors, leaving her to hurry after him.

“Hey! Wait!”

She didn’t bother looking back as the ruby doors slammed shut behind her. “Seto, _stop_!”

He did, thankfully, halfway around a corner leading to a side hall.

“What is _with_ you?” she asked, crossing her arms across her chest and staring up at him. “I’ve never seen you act like this before.”

Seto huffed and mimicked her stance, looking past her and down the hall. “Something isn’t right here.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow. “And you can tell this…how? And don’t tell me it’s because of that Kemo person.”

She watched him tense up again. “Call it a hunch, but the mayor of this town is not someone who’s out to help us.”

“They might not be here to help,” said Hermione, “But that doesn’t automatically make them an enemy either.”

“Hn.”

“Why are you so out or sorts?” Hermione shifted, putting her hands on her hips. “And…” She took a quick glance down the hall behind her. “…How do you know _this_ way is the route to the Mayor’s office?”

She watched his jaw twitch. “You _promised_ to be open with me, remember?”

“This isn’t _just_ City Hall,” said Seto. He peered around with a look of utter disgust on his face. “It doesn’t look familiar to you?”

“N-no…” she shook her head.

Seto shrugged half-heartedly. “…That’s fair. You were only there for one afternoon.” He drummed his fingers along his upper arm. “It’s my house.”

“W-what?” she spun around. Seto was right – she _had_ only been at his home once before, and that was for the Christmas party that Mokuba had thrown for them all while on break from Hogwarts. But even still, it wasn’t all _that_ familiar. “Are you sure?”

“The outside of the building is identical to the mansion,” Seto said, scowling. “And…you wouldn’t have known, but the décor in this place is _exactly_ the way it was before I had the house redecorated after overthrowing Gozaburo.”

“…Does that… _mean_ something?” she asked. “That the Shadow Magus pulled another old memory?”

“It means that if this building is supposed to resemble the mansion back home, _in the old days_ , then it makes sense for the Mayor to be behind that door,” said Seto. He pointed to a door down the hall.

“Then let’s go see him,” Hermione said. “Open mind, remember?”

Seto’s jaw twitched again as he glared off at the study door.

Hermione reached out and took his hand. “ _Please_. Whoever it is – it’s not really them.”

Seto gave a loud exhale. “You’ll have to remind me of that in probably twenty seconds. Otherwise you’ll be questing alone to rescue cats of out the woods or corralling a bunch of animals in order to post bail.”

Hermione wrinkled her nose. “Is bail a thing in this world?”

Seto snorted and started up the hall again. “As I said, we’re likely to find out momentarily. I just hope my gut instinct is wrong.”

“Is it usually?”

Seto rolled his eyes and took a deep breath before knocking hard on the study door. “Unfortunately, it’s usually accurate.”

The door to the Mayor’s office swung open, seemingly on its own.

Seto gave Hermione a fleeting glace before making the first move inside. To his immense relief, the room was not fashioned after either his own _or_ Gozaburo’s home offices. The walls, with the exception of the left one which was curiously made of stone, were paneled in a rich cherry wood. No photographs or any other decoration. A large window stood behind the desk, overlooking the landscaped lawn behind the building.

The Mayor’s desk sat in the very center of the room, and the large chair behind it was turned around, facing the window.

His relief though, didn’t last long, as he caught sight of the ashtray sitting on the corner of the desk, along with the familiar whiff of smoke. And since the Shadow Magus seemed to fashion seemingly important characters out of familiar faces, that left only _one_ person to be in charge of the town.

The Shadow Magus _had_ to be doing this on purpose, and wherever that demon spirit was at this very moment, Seto was _positive_ it was laughing at him.

“Excuse me,” Hermione said warily. “Are you the mayor?”

An arm extended out from the other side of the office chair, a cigar in hand. “I am. Have a seat.”

The room’s occupant took a long drag on the cigar before swiveling the chair around. He was an older man, in a red pinstripe suit and slicked back greying hair. “I’ve been expecting you.”

Hermione glanced between the mayor and Seto. She had never met Gozaburo Kaiba, but had seen pictures of him in newspapers, even before she met Seto and the others at the Burrow. This was definitely him.

And Seto was _not_ happy.

She slowly took one of the two chairs in front of the desk, and was relieved that Seto stopped glaring at the facsimile of his stepfather to do the same. “How did you know we were coming?”

Seto scowled. “Did your _lackey_ outside tip you off?”

The Gozaburo lookalike raised an eyebrow. “No,” he said simply. “But very few travelers to this town cause such a commotion within _minutes_ of arriving. I hear you threw some folks out of the Apricot Inn last night over a bet.”

“They were _thieves_ , and those were the terms of a game. It wasn’t _our_ fault that they were sore losers.”

“Trivial details, I’m sure,” said the man, leaning forward and propping his elbows onto the desk. “Now, what brings you to Scarletton City?”

“We were here to see the Enchantress,” said Hermione. “But we were told she’s not in.”

“Ah,” Gozaburo smirked, and took another drag on the cigar. “So you two are it, huh? I _suppose_ you’ll do.”

Seto narrowed his eyes and caught Hermione’s confused look. “What’s _that_ supposed to mean?”

“You two don’t look anything like the heroes the prophecy said would save Šwt from destruction,” said Gozaburo.

“Who said we were?” said Seto, crossing his arms. “We just wanted to see the Enchantress. Where is she?”

“No one knows,” said Gozaburo, “She disappeared not long after saving the city from the Wicked Witch of the East. And with the Witch of the West in control of the Ruby Slippers, it’s likely we’ll never see her again.”

“Ruby slippers?” said Hermione, “what are they?”

“The most powerful artifact in all of Šwt,” said Gozaburo, “The Witch stole them from the Palace and used their power against the Enchantress. Now, with her gone, it will only be a matter of time before the Witch gets around all of the spells protecting the town and finds her way in.”

“What makes this place so special?” said Seto. “It’s just a town.”

Gozaburo looked at him as if he were mad. “Scarletton City is the _main hub_ in this land. Most of the trade from other towns pass through here, either via road or port. If the Witch takes the town, it’s only a matter of time before it ripples through to the outlying areas.”

Hermione frowned. Could this be the sign of their overall goal? “You said something about a prophecy?”

“If you want to call it that,” Gozaburo grumbled. “The town’s oracle proclaimed of a vision that a traveler would arrive in town with the power to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West and restore proper order to Šwt.”

Seto drummed his fingers along the arm rest of his chair, “You don’t sound convinced.”

Gozaburo took another long drag on his cigar, and Hermione had to raise a hand and wave away the blast of smoke sent in her direction.

“None of the other travelers managed to get anything done, and they looked much more…” He looked them both up and down with a faint level of disdain. “… _capable_ of taking care of the monsters.”

“Is that so,” said Seto flatly.

“What happened to them?” Hermione asked, jumping in before Seto’s biased contempt for his stepfather got them both into trouble. “The other travelers. If they didn’t manage to see the Enchantress, did that mean they all funneled their way here, to see you, and you sent them off on the same journey?”

“That’s right.”

“But none of them came back,” said Seto, suspicious. “Do you make it a habit of sending strangers off to their deaths?”

Gozaburo snorted. “That hardly makes me a murderer, boy. Just because they haven’t come back doesn’t mean they’re dead.”

“It’s implied that the monsters come out at night and make off with anyone outside the towns,” said Seto. “We’ve heard that more than once. We also know that Scarletton is more than a day’s journey from just about every other city. So it’s more than likely that everyone you sent to deal with this witch has been defeated.”

“Has anyone _from_ this town ever tried to go after the Witch?” asked Hermione.

“Of course,” Gozaburo bristled. “Scores of people. _My son_ was one of them. He had an entire group with him, and after they didn’t return home, a search party found their bodies in the woods. They didn’t even make it to the Witch’s castle before her flying minions tore them apart.”

Hermione flinched.

“They were the last ones to volunteer to go off and try. A month later, the oracle used her ‘second sight’ and proclaimed it was _complete strangers_ who would end up saving us all. We’ll never know if she was right because none of the self-proclaimed heroes have even managed to get to the castle, let alone kill the witch.”

“Can we talk to her?” asked Hermione. “The oracle.”

“She’s dead,” said Gozaburo. “Her fancy all-seeing sight didn’t come in too handy for her when she made the decision to travel to Dhunkave overnight.”

Seto huffed as Hermione’s shoulders slumped. _How convenient…._

“…Which is why I don’t place any stock in what she said. Woman was likely just a fraud anyhow,” said Gozaburo. “So long as we stay in the town, there’s nothing to worry about. _For now_. Even with the ruby slippers – if the witch hasn’t broken into the town yet, she won’t.”

Seto raised an eyebrow. “What’s so special about a pair of shoes?”

“It’s not necessarily the shoes themselves, but the _rubies_ sewn into them. All of the gemstones here in town, and the sapphires that make up the roads throughout Šwt were mined from the Nome kingdom. But there was _one_ ruby that emitted such a powerful aura that people went to _war_ in order to control it. At some point, someone tried to smuggle the ruby off by breaking it down and hiding it in the lining in a pair of shoes.”

Gozaburo leaned back in his chair. “What actually happened was that the rather ordinary shoes transformed into ruby ones, defeating the purpose entirely.”

“Like a Midas Touch,” said Hermione, “Only with rubies instead of gold.”

“Similar, but not quite,” said Gozaburo, waving the cigar at her. “The shoes became a conduit for the ruby’s power. So long as you’re wearing them, they can make the impossible possible. They can make realities of your dreams – or nightmares. In the right _or wrong_ hands, you can control all of Šwt.”

“That seems a bit too good to be true,” said Hermione. “Almost _too_ powerful…”

“It is,” Gozaburo snorted. “And there’s a caveat. Not just _anyone_ can use the magic of the ruby slippers. You have to be gifted in magic to even wear them. I can’t. The other officials in City Hall can’t. The simple farmers and merchants that live here in town can’t.”

“But the Enchantress can,” said Hermione.

“She used their power to keep peace in the area. For all the _good_ that it did since it didn’t save _her_. But the power imbalance is only going to get worse.”

“But you also said the town was fine.”

“Yeah,” Gozaburo snorted. “ _We_ are. _For now_. Eventually places like Dhunkave or Mythelo that are closer to Šwt’s borders will stop sending and receiving cargo shipments because it’ll be too dangerous. People won’t travel outside city walls, and we’ll all fall apart.”

Hermione pressed her mouth into a thin line and looked to Seto. He was still fairly mad, but at least the anger seemed to tone itself down. He glanced back at her.

She raised an eyebrow at him, and he sighed.

If there was any sort of ‘epic quest’ they would have to go on, it seemed this was going to be it.

“Well…” she said slowly, and turned to look back at Gozaburo. “…What can we do?”

Gozaburo sent off another smoke ring at them. “I thought you two weren’t heroes.”

“I never said we were – or weren’t,” said Seto, his voice flat. “But right now, we’re all you’ve got.”

Gozaburo smirked.

* * *

“I have a bad feeling about this,” Seto said as they made their way back towards the center of town.

“About the task itself -or that it was given to us by someone who looks like your stepfather?”

Seto glared down at her, and she held up her hands defensively.

“Hey,” she said, “I’m just being honest!”

He scowled and leaned up against a lamppost.

“Both.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t trust this task to be as straightforward as he said, nor do I trust _him_.”

She sighed. “Breaking into the witch’s castle just to steal back the ruby slippers _hardly_ seems straightforward. I would have thought we’d be sent to find the Enchantress.”

“There’s no guarantee that the Witch of the West has her,” said Seto. “And without a lead on where she is, we could be searching for a very long time.” He paused as the thought lingered in his head. “Although…that _does_ seem like something the Shadow Magus would do to keep us occupied….”

“Well…at the same time, there’s _also_ no guarantee that the Mayor is up to no good, _just because_ he looks like Gozaburo Kaiba,” said Hermione. “But perhaps we’ll find clues to the Enchantress on our journey.”

“Perhaps,” said Seto. He pushed himself off the lamppost and started back down the road. “I still don’t trust him.”

Hermione shook her head slightly and started after him. She had only made it a few steps before pausing, and looking back behind her towards the westward city gate.

“Seto?”

He stopped and turned around. “What is it?”

Hermione pointed to the gate. “The map the mayor showed us…we need to go this way….”

“I know,” Seto nodded his head towards one of the shops behind him. “But the map also showed that the castle is further from here than Sandhaven. And I’m not leaving this town without supplies.”

Hermione moved to stand in front of him, and put her hands on her hips. “Do you expect to rescue that cat in the tree first?”

Seto rolled his eyes. “Not exactly. But if we need to do some oddball quests, I’d like to know ahead of time how many we’ll have to complete.”

She blinked. “That…is sound. Which shop are we going to?”

“Weapon,” said Seto. “I’m guessing you still have that tent in your bag somewhere. But we’ll probably end up in the woods overnight, and I don’t plan on letting some demon tear me to pieces.”

He stopped in front of the small storefront and held the door for her, jingling the bell at the top of the frame.

To both of their surprise, and relief, the man behind the counter was not a familiar face. Not exactly anyhow. Hermione didn’t recognize him as anyone from the real world, but they both had seen him before.

The shopkeeper’s eyes widened and he hurried around the counter, clapping a hand down on Seto’s shoulder, causing him to tense up, scowling.

“Well, what a coincidence!” said the shopkeeper, “Good to see you again, son!”

Hermione blinked. She recognized his voice, only now it was full of delight and not of panic. “I know you – you’re the man from Anzu’s inn!”

“I owe you a great deal of gratitude, my boy!” said the shopkeeper. “For winning my money back and all! Without it I don’t know what I would have done. How may I help you?”

“We’ll be heading out of town and need some supplies.”

The shopkeeper’s smile faltered. “You’ve been to see the mayor, I take it. Going after the Wicked Witch, like all the others?”

“Something like that,” said Seto. “We’ll likely be out of town overnight. What do you know about the monsters that attack after dark?”

“Mind you, I haven’t seen them myself,” said the shopkeeper. He held his arms out as if he were describing something large. “But…the few stragglers have described ‘em as huge winged…. _cats_.”

“Cats,” Seto said, doubtful. The first image that popped into his head was Crookshanks with wings, and it seemed too _odd_ to be scary.

“Uh huh,” said the weaponsmith, “Big, _freaky_ ones. If they don’t tear you apart right out in the woods, they’ll drag you off to the Witch’s castle and she’ll add you to her freaky monster army!”

“Right…” Seto didn’t sound convinced.

The weaponsmith raised a hand and looked Seto over. “Well, if you’re off to fight some demons, you’ll need a proper weapon. I fit for all sorts of folks.” He gestured to the various swords, axes, and other items hanging on the wall. “Most of the travelers fall into two types: there’s the sword-wielding front-liners, and those who use stealth and prefer to sneak up on their target.”

He stroked his beard. “You look like a strong lad. I think I have just the thing for you.”

He lifted a sword from the wall and handed it to him. “Try that out.”

Seto stepped away from them and into an open area of the shop, gave it a few swings, before handing it back. “Not a fan.”

“No worries, no worries,” said the weaponsmith, “Plenty more to choose from.”

Two crossbows, an axe, and a pair of daggers later, and a new sword was clipped to his belt.

“And you, little lady?” said the shop owner. “What’s your poison?”

Hermione’s jaw dropped. “W-what?”

Seto nodded over to the side wall housing nothing but axes. “She wants _that_ one.”

Hermione looked where he was indicating. He had, naturally, chosen the largest one hanging on the wall. Forget swinging it at some cat-demon, she doubted she could even get it off the wall!

“ _Very funny_.” She turned to the shop owner. “Please, I’m not a fighter. I don’t think I could use any of these.”

“Hmm…” the weaponsmith mused. “How’s your aim? I might have a set of daggers that are easy to handle…”

Hermione shook her head. “Not good enough, probably.”

“Here,” he gently took her arm and guided her over to a makeshift dartboard in the back of the shop. Seto trailed after them, and didn’t bother hiding the amused look on his face that Mayor Gozaburo’s face was sitting in place of a traditional bullseye.

“Stand right there,” said the shopkeeper, and he disappeared behind the counter for a moment before returning with a collection of various daggers. “Now, you want to hold it like so – no, thumb here, _that’s it!_ Let’s see your best shot. Land one right on the Mayor’s nose and I’ll give you everything you need free of charge!”

He opened the small case towards her. “Go ahead and pick one.”

Hermione sighed and picked up one of the medium-sized daggers from the box. Not that she knew what was a good weight for one, but it wasn’t too light or too heavy. Now…whether or not it made it to the target was another story.

She bit her lip and looked to the side at both Seto and the weaponsmith. “You’re going to laugh at me.”

The shopkeeper raised his hands in defense. “No judgement here! I’ve seen a lot of folks come through, some a lot bigger and a lot stronger than you, that can’t even land somewhere on that picture.”

She sighed noisily and turned back to the wall, raised her arm, and let the dagger fly.

It missed the picture of Gozaburo entirely, hitting the blank wall well to the right of it, and clattered to the ground.

She cringed, shoulders slumping.

The weaponsmith patted her shoulder. “Have you ever thrown before?”

Hermione shook her head.

“Well, that wasn’t too bad for a first try.”

Hermione closed her eyes, shaking her head as Seto retrieved the dagger. “Now you’re taking pity on me.”

Seto placed the dagger back into her hand, stepped behind her, and guided her arm back and forth. “Keep your arm straight, your elbow in. Focus on the point you want to hit.”

She nodded, he let go of her arm and backed away.

The second throw was better, but still far from the center target.

Hermione shook her head as Seto picked it up again. “I can’t – _really_ , and I don’t want to damage the dagger.”

“One more shot,” Seto said, setting it back into her palm. She looked up at him, exasperated.

“ _Seto_.”

“Picture the target as something else. Something you’d _want_ to knife between the eyes.”

Hermione looked scandalized. “I-I couldn’t.”

In the middle of a war? Between Voldemort, or the Shadow Magus, or _any_ of the other Death Eaters they’ve faced? He found that rather hard to believe. _He_ had no problem flinging the weapon in her hand right into Gozaburo’s face, or even picturing someone _else_ ’s face in that spot instead. Hermione, however – and _thankfully –_ was not like him.

There were a few people he could think of to get her in that mindset, that at least wouldn’t trigger anything for her.

“Cormac McLaggen.”

She quickly twisted to face him, looking at him like he had uttered complete gibberish. _“What_?”

He gestured to the dartboard again, and raised her arm up once more. “Last spring, the last Quidditch practice before Gryffindor’s game against Ravenclaw. You wanted to watch Harry and Ron’s practice.”

She didn’t lower her arm back down, but side-eyed him, puzzled. “O-okay….”

“We sat in the stands, and Harry gathered everyone for a team huddle in the air. McLaggen got bored. _What happened next?”_

“…Bludger,” she muttered. She then blinked suddenly, and lowered her arm. “ _He_ didn’t hit you directly though. It _was_ an accident.”

Seto pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closed. “I think you’re missing the point of the exercise.”

Hermione huffed. “I know _you_ were out cold at the time, and I was very angry at him, but I don’t think I was _that_ cross that I could accurately hit his face. Or _anyone_ ’s face.”

Seto raised an eyebrow. “Really.”

“ _Really_.”

Seto was smirking at her now. He was going to prove her wrong in two seconds flat, she _knew_ it.

He pointed to Gozaburo’s face on the wall and whispered in her ear. “Picture the scene. That’s not Gozaburo in front of you _or_ Cormac McLaggen. _That_ ’s the Shadow Magus. In a completely _predictable_ fashion, he’s incapacitated me... _again_. The dagger in your hand is the only thing you have at your disposal to both stop him, and release me. You did it once already in the tomb. _Aim for the mask_.”

The weaponsmith, standing several paces off to the side, couldn’t hear whatever it was that Seto was telling her, but it must have worked, because when she finally threw the dagger, it didn’t bounce off the wall at all, but embedded itself in the mounted photograph, right next to Gozaburo’s left eye.

“Well, now!” He clapped his hands. “That’s not the nose, but goodness, that’s close enough!”

Hermione could only blink, staring blankly at the knife in the picture, before turning to Seto, eyes bright. “I did it!”

Seto grinned, leaned down and gave her a quick kiss. “Congratulations,” he said quietly, “You killed the Shadow Magus.”

“Mmm,” she murmured, “I don’t think that would actually kill him. But more importantly, _I saved you_.”

“You _did_ say you weren’t going to leave me behind…”

She looked up into his blue eyes. “Even in an imaginary setting – I won’t break that promise.”

A quiet, polite cough sounded from the other side of the shop, and she broke away from him, face flushed. “Sorry.”

The weaponsmith let out a hearty laugh. “Oh I was young too, once upon a time ago. It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

He closed the knife case. “Well then. Will that be all?”

“I…think so?” Hermione said, shooting Seto a questioning glance. The dagger in her hand was small, and it probably wouldn’t do a whole lot of damage, not compared to the sword hanging from Seto’s hip, but it was better than nothing. She didn’t have a wand and her arsenal of spells at her disposal. This would have to do.

The shopkeeper slid Hermione’s dagger into its sheath and set it onto the counter.

Seto sighed. “How many cats are we going to have to get out trees to afford these?” he asked.

The weaponsmith chuckled. “Nonsense, my friend! I owe you a great debt already!” He watched them exchange confused looks and held up a hand. “It may not have seemed like a great deal to you young folks, especially since I was foolish enough to play a game against that ruffian in the first place. But the extra funds he took from me would mean I wouldn’t be able to get what I needed from the market this morning – _or_ retrieve my order of supplies when the next shipment hits port tomorrow!”

Seto glanced up where the sword used to be hanging on the wall. “This alone cost twenty gold pieces. That _can’t_ be something you’re willing to just eat.”

“We just arrived in town yesterday,” said Hermione, “We don’t have any money, but we can take up some odd jobs if you’d like us to at least give you _something_ for it.”

“I won’t accept it,” said the weaponsmith.

“No, _really_ , we _have_ to give you something.” Hermione set her beaded bag along the counter and shoved her arm inside. Glancing over to Seto, she added. “I _think_ I might have a few Galleons in here…. It’s not quite the same as the money here but…”

Seto shrugged. “Gold is gold.”

The weaponsmith’s eyes widened as the entire length of her arm disappeared into her bag. “Hey…that’s some trick!” His eyes widened. “Say…you don’t practice… _the craft_ …do you?”

Seto raised an eyebrow. “‘The craft’?”

“Spells! Magic!” the man said. “Do you practice, or did someone craft that bag for you?”

“Oh,” said Hermione, “I…did?”

The shopkeeper clapped his hands together excitedly. “ _Ah!_ Why didn’t you say so! That little dagger of yours will help you out in a pinch, but I have _just_ the thing for you! Hang on just a moment.”

He disappeared into the backroom of the shop.

Hermione turned to Seto. “…I was under the impression that magic – or at least _witches_ were bad in this place.”

“Like all things, I imagine there are good and bad magic users,” said Seto. “If you’re able to cast magic here, I’m sure that will give us an edge.”

Hermione nodded. “I hope so.”

The weaponsmith came back around with a handful of ornate wands. Each one had a different design to it, and each of them were at least arm’s length, much longer than the wizarding wand she was used to back home.

“Here you are! Go try one out!”

Hermione removed her hand from her bag and held it over one of the wands. “Um…so these are… _different_ from the ones back home,” she said. “…Is there a special way to hold these?”

The weaponsmith shrugged. “Not really.” He picked one up from the counter and held it out vertically in front of him. “Some choose to hold it this way…”

He then angled his wrist so it was more or less pointing out at the Gozaburo picture still on the wall. “And some like this. Whatever is more comfortable for you.”

“Alright…” She grabbed one of the smaller wands, and aimed it at the dagger on the countertop. “ _Wingardium Leviosa.”_

“Gesundheit,” said the shopkeeper.

“No – sorry,” said Hermione sheepishly, “…that’s a spell.”

“Not one I’ve ever heard,” said the weaponsmith. “Not sure how your magic works in your hometown, but there are no fancy casting names around here. Intent is everything. So long as your mind is clear on what you’re trying to do, the wand will cast it for you.”

Seto turned one of the other wands over in his hands. “What’s the difference between them?”

“Each one has a focus on a specific element.” The weaponsmith gestured to the one in her hand. “Now that one mains fire. Can blast up to 50 feet away. For its small size, it packs quite a punch!”

Hermione nodded slowly. “Does it… _only_ cast fire spells?”

“Oh, no!” he said. “It can shoot water or blast lightning, but those spells won’t be as strong.” He gestured to a different wand on the counter, one that was an icy blue on one side, and a fiery orange on the other. “Now this here focuses _both_ on fire _and_ water. To switch your focus, just turn it around.”

“What about this one?” Hermione picked up a different wand. It was another dual-ended one, with the first end a shimmering gold, and the reverse an almost purplish-black color.

“Light and darkness,” said the weaponsmith. “You’ll want the holy end for fighting your typical undead. Vampires, zombies, that sort of thing.”

“Zombies?”

“Oh yeah, you’ll be surprised what shows up in Šwt’s cemeteries on the full moon.”

Hermione slowly put that one back on the counter, and picked up the fire/water wand. “I think…this one.”

The weaponsmith nodded. “Very good choice.”

She nodded and aimed the water half of the wand towards an empty bucket in the corner of the shop. They watched as the staff started to glow, and a few trickles of water appeared in the bottom of the bucket, but that was all.

Hermione frowned. “I’m not sure I’m doing this right.”

“We’ll figure it out on the road,” said Seto. “You’re sure you don’t want anything for these?”

The shopkeeper shook his head. “Nope. I said if she hit the bullseye I wasn’t going to charge.”

“But I didn’t hit the bullseye,” said Hermione.

“In comparison to your first two throws? That third one might as well have been.” The weaponsmith came back around to the front of the counter. “Look, we don’t seem to have much luck recently with adventuring heroes going off to the fight the Witch. But…I have a good feeling about you. If you’re able to bring even a shred of hope to us here in Scarletton, that’s all the payment I need.”

* * *

Gozaburo stood at a second-story window in the mansion, a glass of liquor in one hand, cigar in the other, watching the pair progress down the sapphire road until they were out of sight.

The stone wall to his right rumbled, and parts of the rocky surface began to change shape, until the outline of a face appeared in the center.

Gozaburo barely paid it notice before turning back to the window again. “They’re outside the gates, heading towards the castle.”

The face in the wall grinned. “ _Excellent. The Nome King will be pleased.”_

Gozaburo downed his glass. “Does he _really_ think those two are going to make it? None of the others did.”

_“Do not fret. Everything is going as planned._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The event with Cormac McLaggen that Seto mentions is actually in Chapter 7 of ["Nerdshipping Shenanigans"](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16245893/chapters/42345674).


	5. Chapter 5

_Scarletton City_

Jonouchi stumbled his way down the city streets, avoiding the occasional merchant cart and citizens going to and from the storefronts as he ran past. He had to find Yuugi and Yami – _and fast_.

He skidded around a mother and her two children coming around a corner near the town’s main notice board and continued on towards the Apricot Inn.

“C’mon, please let them be there….”

“Woah, Jou,” said the general store’s shop owner, poking his head out of his window. “Slow down before you hit something!”

“No time, friend!” Jou called over his shoulder.

“Where’s the fire, Jonouchi?”

“Jonouchi!”

“Jonouchi – your straw!”

Jou ignored the shouts of the villagers, rounded the next corner, slammed right into someone, and tumbled to the ground. He didn’t have a chance to see who it was, but he heard the loud _clang_! of metal hitting the cobblestones. Grabbing his hat from where it felt off his head, Jou quickly sat up.

“Oi! Yami, oh am I glad to see you! Where’s Yuug’?”

“At his grandfather’s,” said Yami. “Why?”

“We got ourselves a problem!”

Yami slowly got back onto his feet. “What’s wrong? And where have you been all this time, anyhow? Yuugi and Anzu were expecting you at midday, but you never appeared!”

“Worry about that later,” Joey said, breathing heavy. “You’ll never guess what I overheard over by City Hall!”

Yami raised an eyebrow and plucked his fallen axe up from the ground. “Jou,” he sighed, “What were you doing over by City Hall?” He leveled him a hard look. “Were you hiding under the Mayor’s window again?”

“Look, man, I had a perfectly good reason to be over by City Hall,” said Jou hotly.

“…Such as?”

Jou scowled. “Okay, yeah, I was eavesdroppin’, okay? But I had good reason this time!”

“Okay, okay,” Yami said, exasperated. “Let’s go find Yuugi, and you can tell us all about it.”

He grabbed onto the back of Jou’s jacket before he could scamper off again. “But slow down this time or you’re going to lose the rest of your foot.”

“Eh?” Jou looked down. “Oh. So _that’s_ why all them people were yellin’ at me.”

Yami rolled his eyes. “At this rate, we’re going to have to stop and have you stuffed all over again.”

“Heh, sorry.”

“Here, just hold onto me so you don’t fall apart any more than you already have.”

“Good thing Gramps doesn’t live far from Anzu’s, huh?” Jou said.

Yami shook his head slightly. “Did you run _all_ the way from City Hall?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“You weren’t built for that kind of endurance, Jou,” Yami chastised, “No wonder you keep falling apart.”

The small turtle-shaped hut at the end of the road was within sight when Jou detached himself from Yami and skipped over. “Oi! _Yuugi!_ ”

Yuugi trotted around from the back of the house a few minutes later, hopped up onto a tree stump before them, and looked up owlishly. “Hey,” he said, “Where were you earlier, Jou?”

“ _Someone_ was stalking the Mayor’s window again,” said Yami.

“Hey, _hey_ , I said I had good reason this time!”

Yuugi frowned. “Jou…you’ve been trying to catch the Mayor up to something for a long time now….”

“ _Oh_ , I got it this time,” said Jou. “Look, I’m sorry I missed you guys earlier, but you know that big beefy stooge guy that does the dirty work for City Hall?”

“The one with pointy hair?” said Yuugi, “Sure.”

“Well…the weaponsmith? He got summoned to City Hall, not two hours after Seto ‘n Hermione left town.”

Yuugi tilted his head. “People go to City Hall all the time, Jou.”

Jou held up his hands. “Okay, okay. So I followed ‘em and hid under the Mayor’s window…like I always did…and they were talkin’ about the stuff that the guy sold to ‘em.”

“…And?” said Yami.

“Well, that was all for the shop dude. But _then_ …you know that weird stone wall in the Mayor’s office?”

Yuugi glanced over to Yami, who merely shrugged his shoulders. “Jou…none of us have ever been to the Mayor’s office. You only know because you like to hide under his window all the time.”

“Oh.”

“But go ahead,” Yami waved him on.

“Well…it’s weird. The building ain’t made of stone, you know? The walls are wooden. But there’s _one_ that’s completely stone. And he was talkin’ to it.”

“He spoke to the wall?”

“Yeah – and get this. A _face_ formed out of the wall, _and was talking back to him_!”

Jou looked to his two friends. “You don’t find that fishy?”

Yami shook his head. “Not particularly. I mean, you and I were enchanted to life. Perhaps the wall is how the Mayor speaks to the Enchantress when she’s not around.”

“Maybe, but that can’t really be it, can it?” said Yuugi, “He could just go to the Palace to see her. And I’ve never heard of her using a wall to communicate.”

“Well what did they talk about? The Mayor and the wall, I mean,” said Yami.

“Well…he said that Seto ‘n Hermione had left,” said Jou, “And were goin’ after the ruby slippers.”

Yuugi and Yami exchanged looks. “Okay…”

“And that they took a _wand_ with them. And then the wall said he’d keep an eye on them until they made it back.”

Yuugi scrunched up his face. “How is a wall _inside_ the Mayor’s office gonna keep track of where Seto and Hermione are?”

Jou shrugged wildly. “I dunno, man. But it seemed pretty adamant that they were gonna come back….”

“Well, that’s good. Maybe they see something in them that none of the other travelers had.”

Jou scowled. “Yeah. _Magic_. They took a wand with them. That means at least one of them is a spellcrafter.”

Yami’s jaw dropped open. “ _Oh_.”

Yuugi straightened up. “There hasn’t been a spellcrafter to come through in a long time….”

“Yeah,” Jou nodded. “See why this is bad?”

Yuugi hopped off the stump. “Yeah. If the Witch finds out….”

Jou flailed his arms wildly. “ _She might already know!!”_

Yami paused. “You don’t know that.”

Jou glared back at him. “I know all the other guys that went after the witch never came back – and _none_ of ‘em were mages. And the Mayor was talkin’ to someone who can use magic.”

“But if it was the Witch in the stone wall, she wouldn’t want them to make it back to town,” said Yuugi.

“Details,” Jou snapped. “But any magic Seto n’ Hermione do is gonna put a bigger target on their backs. We gotta do something!”

Yami frowned. “What do you propose?”

“We go after them,” said Yuugi. “They don’t have to deal with the monsters alone. And we’ll all be safer in numbers.”

“We’re going to have to move fast to catch up with them,” said Jou. “Let’s get goin!”

“Hang on a second,” said Yami. “Going out of town without supplies isn’t going to do us any good. And….” He looked down at Jou’s feet. “You need some more straw anyway.”

“How about you take Jou to the farm for some more straw,” said Yuugi. “I’ll stop by Anzu’s and get some provisions and an extra oil can for you, Yami.”

Yami nodded. “The Tinker is near the farm. I can pick up my spare axe as well.”

“I get the extra one, right?” Jou asked, eagerly.

Yami grimaced. “Uh…”

Jou grinned.

“No.”

“ _Rats!_ ”

* * *

Hermione waved her wand around at the stretch of road in front of them. “I…I don’t get it.”

“It’s a mental thing, he said,” said Seto, “You’re supposed to have clear thoughts behind your magic.”

“I know that’s what the shopkeeper said,” Hermione sighed. “But…I’m not sure I was cut out for this.”

“Just because you haven’t been able to make something come out the end doesn’t mean you can’t produce a spell,” said Seto. “You also haven’t been trying for very long.”

She huffed. “I’m not going to be any good at a fight if I can’t get something to happen.”

Seto paused in the middle of the road and held out his hand. “Let me see it.”

He chuckled at how eager she was to hand it over, and weighed it in his hands. “Well, if nothing else, you could probably give someone a good concussion with it.”

“Very funny,” she rolled her eyes and took it back. “It’s just – I can’t even make a _bubble_.”

“ _Practice_.”

“ _On what_?”

“Does it matter?” he gestured around him at the empty road and then the trees lining their path. “You have a weapon that shoots fire out one end and water the other. So long as you don’t burn the woods down….”

She leveled him a hard glare.

He held up his hands. “Alright, fine.” He stepped into the grass and gathered up a few twigs scattered about. “Try to make a fire, and then put it out.”

Her shoulders slumped, but she shook a few stray wisps of hair out of her face, flipped the wand around and pointed it at the small pile of twigs.

Seto stood off to the side, arms crossed, and stared down at the twigs, glancing over at her every few seconds to see her, eyes screwed shut in concentration. It took several moments before the base of the pile to start to smoke and a tiny fire was born.

“Look at that,” he said. “See?”

Hermione opened her eyes, but rather than be relieved, she shook her head, downtrodden. “It’s so small.”

“It was your first one,” he said. “But you still produced a fire.”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “It’s barely a spark.”

Seto shrugged. “At least you can’t say that it was _me_ distracting you this time.”

Hermione exhaled noisily, throwing him an amused glare. “I can’t believe you kept me from studying for that exam with those canaries.”

He smirked at her. “It’s not like you _needed_ to go over the material. We _both_ had over 100% in Vector’s class.

“It’s the _principle_ of the thing, Seto,” she said, and aimed the wand out at the tiny fire again. “Okay, let me put this out before it gets bigger and _does_ set the woods on fire.”

As she shut her eyes, a flick of movement caught the corner of Seto’s vision, and he stepped around her to take a hard look at the trees. Was that a bird he saw? Or something – _or someone_ – else?

To her dismay, not a drop of water appeared over the fire, or even trickled out the end of the wand.

“Ooh, _come on_ ,” she said, and smacked the orange side of the wand against her palm in pure annoyance. “I _know_ you can do this! _Put out the fire_!”

A quick jet of water shot out the end of the wand, but not the one aimed at the fire. The ice-colored end flared a vibrant blue as Seto jumped back from the short stream hitting him square in the face and drenching him from head to toe.

Hermione quickly gasped, dropped her wand into the grass and hurried over to him, hands covering her mouth to hide both her surprise, shock, and more importantly – the laugh she was trying _so hard_ to keep in. “Oh my gosh, _Seto_! Are you alright?”

“I’m…” He wiped at his eyelids. “ _Very wet_.”

“ _I’m sorry_!” she cried, “I forgot to turn it around and….” She reached up and wiped at the water dripping down his cheeks, surprised at the proud glint in his eyes. “…what?”

He took hold of her hand, pulling it away from his face slightly as he leaned his head in closer to hers. “…You did it.”

She smiled. “…I did…”

He cupped her chin with his other hand. “See?” he said, his voice low, “Just needed some practice.”

_Crack_!

Seto let go of her and instantly whirled around, reaching for the sword hanging on his hip. _That_ came from somewhere in the trees, he was certain of it.

“What was that?” she whispered; eyes wide. “A bird?”

He doubted it – or it was a _very_ heavy bird. But he couldn’t see anything out there.

Did the bandits from town follow them out here? Or was it Jonouchi again, stumbling his way through the trees like last time?

There was another rustling in the distance, this time from a different direction, and before either of them could pinpoint exactly which cluster of trees off to the side that the noise had come from, a creature darted out of the brush with a piercing shriek, aiming right for them.

Hermione gasped and backed away a step as Seto swung his sword up to cut down the creature, but it leapt right over him and kept going. She raised her arm, and her eyes widened.

The wand wasn’t in her hand.

_No_! It was still on the ground several feet away from where she dropped it earlier.

She made it only a few steps before the creature tackled her to the ground.

Hermione pushed at it, trying to pry it off, but it wouldn’t budge. Its claws were sharp as it dug into her arms, and she felt the rush of air as it beat its wings. Was – was it going to fly off with her?

The creature let out a harrowing screech as it was suddenly pressed down over her, and then flung off.

Hermione sat up, and scrambled back. The creature was unlike anything she had ever seen. It resembled a large mutated wild cat, with almost human-like clawed hands, and massive wings.

The dagger was sticking out of its shoulder.

The creature reached over, yanked the dagger out, tossed it aside, and then growled at them, baring its teeth.

Seto stepped between Hermione and the monster, sword raised. “ _Back off_.”

The creature crouched down and then surged forward again. Rather than jump right over Seto this time, it swiped its hand and caught his wrist mid-swing, tossing him to the side as if he weighed nothing, before returning its gaze to Hermione.

Hermione once more reached for her fallen weapon, but the monster’s hooked its claws into her shoulders and started hoisting her up into the air.

“ _Seto_!”

She thrashed around in its grip as they went higher and higher into the air. “ _Let go!”_

The creature merely hissed at her and continued onwards towards the woods.

Hermione looked behind her to Seto running after them alongside the ground, scooping up her wand as he went. “Your sword!” she yelled. “ _Throw it_!”

“Are you _crazy_?” He shouted back. “ _I could hit you_!”

She continued to struggle against the creature’s grip but it only dug its claws in deeper. There was no way it was letting her go anytime, and she didn’t have the reach or the brute strength to knock it off. But once they disappeared into the woods, it would be a lot harder for Seto to give chase. They were already too high. She needed it to slow and bring her closer to the ground.

Hermione managed to wrench one of her arms out of the creature’s grip, and it paused in its flight, using both of its claws to readjust its grip on her other shoulder.

Seto gritted his teeth. Before, stabbing the winged beast was the only way he got it to get off of Hermione. He was certain he could fling the sword hard enough to land a hit, but there was too great a risk in hitting Hermione.

But what choice did he have? There was only _one_ winged monster here. If he allowed this one to haul her too far from here, there was the risk of more of them showing up.

Fighting _this_ one was bad enough. But if he didn’t make a move soon, Hermione would be too far away.

Hermione swung back and forth as they approached the edge of the woods, and managed to knock the creature off kilter enough that it hit the tree and slowed down, but it gave enough pause that she was able to grab onto one of the tree branches and keep it from flying off with her again. She could feel it starting to give both from her weight on it, and the pull from the creature trying to pull her off of it.

A sudden _thunk,_ followed by a high growl reached her ears and she twisted around as best she could before she felt herself start to fall. The creature was letting go of her! But – why?

Another dull thud, followed by a series of cracks. The winged cat monster released her completely as it fell to the ground, but without it also keeping some of her weight in the air, the tree branch wasn’t able to support her anymore.

“ _S-Seto_!” she cried, and looked down. She wasn’t at the top of tree by any means…but she wasn’t close to the ground, either, and was certain she wouldn’t be able to escape a fall from this height unscathed.

She heard him running nearby and then he appeared under her. “It’s okay. Let go.”

She stared down at him incredulously. “I’ll _squish_ you!”

The branch crackled again.

“It’s fine! I’ll catch you.”

It certainly _was not fine_.

Hermione looked up at the branch one more time and closed her eyes. She was going to let go of the tree and plummet to the ground. If she was lucky, Seto would catch her. Or she’d crush him.

But she could see that the creature still looked like it was breathing on the ground, and was only stunned. If it woke up, it would surely do more damage to both of them then her falling out of the tree. After a final deep breath, Hermione squeezed her eyes shut even more, and let go.

She felt the air rush by beneath her, then Seto breaking her fall somehow, and then she was falling again before hitting the ground, hearing him let out a pained grunt.

She opened one eye to find herself on top of Seto, who was flattened on his back on the ground.

“ _Seto_!” She cried, propping herself up awkwardly, and tapped at his cheek.

He groaned and turned his head to face her with the oddest half-smirk she had ever seen him wear. “I _said_ I’d catch you.”

She wrinkled her nose and carefully shifted off of him. “I _crushed_ you.”

“I’m fine,” he said, slowly getting back on his feet. “Are you hurt?”

Hermione shook her head. “I-I don’t think so.”

Seto picked up his sword from where he had tossed it aside to catch her and made his way over to the cat creature. It still appeared to be stunned on the ground.

Hermione stayed behind him and peered around at it. “What did you hit it with?”

He didn’t skip a beat. ‘Your staff. And then a rock.”

Her jaw dropped. “You flung my _wand_ at it?”

He shrugged. “I was right – it _was_ heavy enough to knock someone out.”

She merely stared at the back of his head. “I can’t believe it.”

“Was going to use the sword, but it wouldn’t have stayed airborne as well. And I only had one chance to slow it down.”

Hermione reached out for Seto’s empty hand. “A-are you going to kill it?”

Seto paused. “If it goes back to wherever it came from, it will only come back, _with friends_.”

The cat creature suddenly sprang to life once Seto was nearly standing right over it, and he immediately staggered backwards. He raised the sword once more in front of him. The creature bared its teeth at them again, but unlike before, its eyes didn’t seem as focused. He didn’t realize the staff managed to knock it in the head so hard.

And like before, the creature looked right past him, at Hermione, and started charging again. It’s initial leap this time was not as high, and it caught the edge of Seto’s sword, and crashed back onto the ground, howling.

It took a fleeting glance at Hermione before refocusing its gaze on Seto, snarling.

“That’s right,” Seto muttered, low enough that Hermione couldn’t hear him. “Come _this_ way.”

The creature swiped at him, but dodged Seto’s counter-swing and lashed out, catching the back of Seto’s leg and sending him tumbling. He let out a pained gasp, landing flat on his back. Apparently, Hermione’s fall had more of an effect on him than he initially thought.

The sword was knocked from his hands as the creature pinned him down, and withstood his attempts to knock it off. He grimaced as the cat’s face loomed right over his and a bit of drool dripped down onto his neck. Seto managed to bring a leg up and kick at it. The creature roared, and made a swing for his head.

There was a flash of heat and the creature suddenly jumped up, twisted to the side and howled angrily.

Seto propped himself up onto his elbows, wincing and followed its gaze.

Hermione stood several feet off, her staff in hand, the fire end glowing brightly.

“Get away from him!” she said.

The creature hissed, beat its wings and started advancing towards her again.

Hermione held the wand out in front her again. “Come on….” She whispered to it.

The creature made it halfway between her and Seto before the second fireball, this one a tad larger than the last, erupted from the wand, striking it just as it started in the air again. The blast caught the side of the creature’s leg and tail.

It staggered back, wailing before turning and flying off.

“Seto!”

Hermione rushed over and dropped down beside him. “Are you –”

He held up a hand as he she helped him sit completely up. “I’m fine.”

“No…” she raised a hand and touched his cheek gingerly. “You’re hurt!”

Seto ran his finger along the spot. It came back clean. “Just a scratch. I’m fine.”

She pressed her lips into a thin line, not quite believing him.

Seto got to his feet, pulling her up with him. She clung to him, eyes still following the creature’s retreat over the top of the trees.

“I think the witch knows we’re out here,” said Hermione, her voice shaky. That was only _one_ of the demon monsters that they had heard about. If it weren’t for Seto’s rather good aim, it would have dragged her off into the woods. _And_ without the two lucky fire blasts she managed to produce, it could have killed Seto.

What if _more_ of them had shown?

Seto placed a hand on her shoulder and stared at the direction the monster had retreated. It was the same path they were taking down the sapphire road. The odds of more of the demons showing up suddenly got a lot greater, and he scowled at the thought.

He glanced down at her. Hermione was visibly shaken, and he didn’t fault her in the slightest for being scared. The attack was unsettling, but perhaps not for the same reason she would think.

It wasn’t until the creature deemed him too much a threat that it took any interest in him at all. That thing was on a mission, and it wanted only Hermione. Or, more likely, _the Witch_ wanted Hermione.

But why?

* * *

Hermione gripped the wand tightly in her hand, closed her eyes, and focused her thoughts on the small rock pile they had made outside of their tent. After a minute, she felt the warmth of the fire against the cool night air.

Seto spoke alongside her. “You’re getting better.”

She opened her eyes to see the small campfire, and smiled up at him. “I think I’m finally getting the hang of it. It’s _so much more_ focused-based than even my usual spells, than verbal casting. Definitely takes some getting used to.”

“It’s progress,” said Seto, and he sat down on the large log they had dragged near to the makeshift firepit, allowing the heat to finish drying the last of the dampness from his hair and clothes. “At least you didn’t use the other end of that thing and drench me again.”

Hermione dropped down beside him. “You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?”

Seto smirked down at her. “Maybe once we get out.”

Hermione rolled her eyes. “For the _last_ time, I didn’t _mean_ to aim at you! I was trying to figure out how this thing works!”

Seto put his arm around her, drawing her closer. “I suppose it could have been worse. You _could_ have set me on fire.”

“See?” She smiled into his shoulder. “Think positive.”

“Maybe once I’m sure I won’t contract pneumonia.”

She swatted his arm and sighed. “Do you think that…that _thing_ will come back?”

“Probably.”

She grimaced. “With friends?”

“…Probably.”

She let out a quiet moan and reached for the arm he slung around her, intertwining their fingers together. “Maybe we’ll be lucky and they won’t find us.”

Seto glanced down at her before making a long sweeping gaze at the skies. He couldn’t _see_ anyone, but that didn’t mean the weird cat creatures weren’t out there. After all, one managed to sneak up on them earlier in broad daylight. “I wouldn’t bet on it. If anything, the fire is a dead giveaway to our location.”

Hermione mumbled into his shoulder. “I know what you’re going to say – ‘I was being a realist’, but _I_ was thinking _positive_.”

“That’s fine,” said Seto. He poked at the fire with a long twig. “You have enough positive energy for the both of us.”

She shook her head slightly, and reached with her free hand for her wand. “I wonder…why the weaponsmith didn’t have these in the front of his shop with all the swords and daggers and things. Why squirrel all these away?”

“Who knows,” said Seto, “Perhaps magically-gifted individuals are rare in this world.”

Hermione blinked. “Maybe. I think he was more excited to give me this than when I landed that hit on the mayor’s face.”

“Oh, I don’t know, he was rather giddy you made that throw.”

“Forget _him, I_ was excited!” She twirled the wand around in her hand. “It’s weird. I would have thought it would be easy to hit that bullseye, after casting magic at home and all….”

“You would think…” said Seto thoughtfully, “Though it’s easy to just aim your wand at your target and know that your spell either will or won’t land where you want it to.”

She nodded. “I suppose that’s true. It’s easy to swing your arm the wrong way and mess up your shot with darts or knife-throwing.”

“It’s a different sort of focus,” said Seto.

“Mhm,” she murmured. Her eyes drifted off towards the edge of their campsite, towards the sapphire road. “How far do you think it is still to the castle?”

“I don’t know,” said Seto, “Hopefully we’ll get there by the end of tomorrow. I’d rather not spend more than one night out in the woods.”

“Right,” she yawned, “Once is bad enough.” She stole a quick look behind her at their tent. Thankfully, it was still nestled deep in her beaded bag, but the enchantment that was on the tent back in the real world – giving it rooms and separate sleeping areas did not carry over into the Shadow Game. There was just enough room for the two of them to lay down blankets and settle in side by side. Still though, a small shelter was better than none at all.

She only hoped that it would squish back down into the bag again. Otherwise their next night would be literally on the forest floor.

“We can turn in if you’re tired.”

“I’m debating it,” she sighed. “I just wish we can take the fire in with us. It’ll be cold.”

“I’d rather not risk finding out which enchantments lingered around on that tent and which ones didn’t,” said Seto, “I’m more surprised that you had blankets packed in that bag.”

She blushed. “Well…I wasn’t sure exactly what I would need when I started preparing for the Horcrux hunt. And blankets are always helpful to have around.” They certainly came in handy when they spent half the winter in the Forest of Dean hiding from Death Eaters.

Hermione fidgeted slightly in her seat and looked down at her bag. “I…I really wish my wand was here. I’d feel better knowing we can put all those wards up around the campsite.”

“There’s no guarantee that it would have worked here. Magic works differently in this place.”

“I know…but…” She exhaled noisily. “We’ll be too on edge to sleep.”

“It’ll be fine.”

She stared up at him. “You’re going to stay up all night and keep watch, aren’t you?”

“I don’t want to be blindsided again.”

“You’ll be no good tomorrow if you don’t get some rest,” she said, and shifted away from him to grab a blanket out of the tent. “I know you didn’t sleep much last night, so you go in first. I’ll keep watch.”

Seto looked curiously at her bag. “I think…I have a better idea. Do you still have all those dark magic detectors that you swiped from that house in London?”

“Grimmauld Place? I should….” She studied him curiously, and could nearly hear the gears turning in his head. “…Are you trying to set a perimeter alarm or something?”

“Or something.” He got up from the log. “I don’t know how well it’ll work, but if it can detect when those flying demons are near….”

Hermione cringed. “I don’t know….” She reached into the bag and felt around for the two sneakoscopes buried towards the bottom. “We can try it…but I don’t know if they’ll get picked up.”

He set the sneakoscopes out several feet from their tent in opposite directions. “ _Or_ …” He mused. “Perhaps the one whose tail you nearly burned off earlier will relay the hint and they won’t be back tonight.”

She stood up. “Oh…I doubt it.”

“Heh. Look who’s being the pessimist now.”

Hermione tilted her head up and gave him a pointed look. “You’re not supposed to be rubbing off on me like that you know.”

“Nonsense,” he said, parting the opening flaps for the tent. “If I haven’t corrupted you by now, it’s not going to happen.”

She rolled her eyes at him and moved inside to the makeshift bedroll they had made earlier, setting her wand within easy reach beside her.

Seto followed in after her and did the same with his sword and dagger, letting out a sigh as he settled down next to her. He had to raise an eyebrow at the concerned look flitting across her face.

“What?”

Her eyes strayed to the long scratch along his cheek. “I’m…just worried, that’s all.”

“About the next challenge waiting for us?”

“No – well, yes, I’m worried about that too – but I was thinking…during the last leg of the walk before setting up camp.”

Seto stretched out along the blanket. They were both rather tense for a while once the cat demon had gone and they started moving again, not speaking too much. Just walking and listening for more signs of trouble.

“About what?”

“Getting out of here,” she said.

“In that we won’t? Because I assure you, one way or another, we will.”

She shuddered slightly and shifted closer. “It’s…strange. We’re in this place designed to kill us – or, at the very least trap us for an indefinite period of time – and I can’t help but think that we’re actually safer _in here_ than out in the real world again.”

“Hermione, we’re in the _Shadow Realm_. Safe should be the _last_ word to describe this place.”

“I know, but…” Hermione looked around at their meager tent. “Despite all of the oddities and danger in this world, it’s closed. The Shadow Magus said no one could interfere in it, right? That means that no one can just sneak in on us.”

“It also stops people like Yugi or Harry and Ron from getting us out, too.”

“That’s true…but…” she looked down at him. “There’s no way of knowing what happened to them either.”

“You think they’re in trouble?”

Hermione let out a dry laugh. “Seto, we’re talking about Harry Potter and Yugi Muto. The two people from our own worlds who get into the thick of things the most.” She glanced down at her hands. “I just wish we could see what was going on in the real world right now.”

“I suppose it doesn’t much matter,” said Seto, “Since we’ve been removed from it all. We can’t influence anything that goes on while we’re stuck in here. Knowing would just add an extra level of stress that we don’t need.”

“But that’s just the problem,” she said, “We don’t even know what’s happened to _us_.” She looked around the tent, at Seto, at the edge of the blanket she was wringing through her fingers. _Anything_ but the letters inscribed on her forearm. “What if…what if we get out of here, and the Shadow Magus had sent us back to the Death Eaters?”

“Considering how Voldemort treated him over the past year, I doubt the Shadow Magus shows any true allegiance to him right now,” said Seto. “He’s claimed multiple times that he’s tired of waiting for his own goals to get put into action. I imagine we’re still in that same tomb.”

“But we don’t know that for certain,” said Hermione, “The Shadow Magus only wanted his sword piece, right? What if Yugi gave it to him, but we were never given back? What use would he have for us then? Or what if we’re not even together – he could have kept you and sent _me_ back to….”

She paused and closed her eyes, drawing her arm against her chest. “…to… _that place_ , in order to bait Harry out into the open again. Our friends could be in a Shadow Game of their own, or they could be _dead_ , and we have no way of helping them.”

“If that were the case, and they were in a nightmare of their own, you don’t feel that Harry or Ron would be able to get themselves out of a Shadow Game?”

“They’ve never been in something like that before…”

“No, you’re right,” said Seto, sitting back up again. “And you haven’t either.”

“But _you_ have.”

“Not something like this,” said Seto. “I don’t think you’re giving your friends enough credit. Do they rely on you? Yeah. _A lot_. Harry dove right into this quest for Horcruxes without a proper clue to what he was doing. Without the preparations you made well ahead of time, he’d probably have died already, and not by any Death Eater’s hands.

But you also have to figure that they’re resourceful on their own. Harry just spent the last year trying to convince us that Draco Malfoy was up to something, just because he wasn’t acting the part of the school bully. And he was right, wasn’t he? And Ron is a strategist – something desperately needed to counter Harry’s uncanny ability to make his moves without thinking ahead first. I’m not saying that things would be easy for them, but they’d make it out.”

“I…I suppose,” she said, after a long silence and drew her knees up to her chest. “There are just so many unknowns. I don’t like it.”

“I don’t either,” said Seto. “After all of the nightmares faced in this soul hunt up to this point? I’m well aware the odds of us waking up in an even worse prison are high. Even without the rest of the group involved in any way, the Shadow Magus could still be holding us over Yugi’s head. Or he could have given us to Voldemort. _Or_ the Ministry, and now we’re being processed like criminals in Umbridge’s witch hunt. For all we know, we could wake up in Azkaban.

“All of that is outside our control, Hermione,” he said. “Worrying about it now is only going to give the Shadow Realm itself more to feed off of, and we don’t have the energy to waste on it, not when we have to focus on getting out of here. Let’s get over _this_ hurdle first.”

“I know, I know,” she said, dropping the blanket into her lap. “It’s just very hard for me to _stop_ worrying. Especially with everything Harry’s been mixed up in since…first year, really.”

Seto tilted his head slightly. “You just need to look at this from a different angle.”

She wrinkled her nose. “What do you mean?”

“It’s not necessarily what mess are we going to find ourselves in once we beat this game,” said Seto, “It’s more like how much of a disaster are we going to make _for_ the Shadow Magus once we’re free. Because if he didn’t want to deal with us before, he’s _definitely_ not going to want to see us once we get out. I guarantee that.”

* * *

Despite the worries on the forefront of her mind, sleep came relatively easy that night, and the sun was up again before either of them knew it.

As the light began to trickle into the tent, Hermione took a deep breath and snuggled in deeper against Seto’s side. “Do we really have to go?” she muttered.

“No,” said Seto, staring at the tent’s ceiling. “But, eventually, the arm you’re laying on will go numb, and unless you’re going to take this thing back apart on your own, I _am_ going to need it.”

“Hn,” she shifted a bit off of him, but didn’t really make any other move to get up. “I could probably figure it out.”

“There’s also only enough of Anzu’s care package to cover breakfast. Eventually, we’re going to have to either make it to a town or hunt for our next meal. … _Or_ starve.”

“Ugh, _fine_. You convinced me.” She sat up and reached for the bundle. “I don’t really want to have to forage for my food.”

He gave her a sly grin. “Fire-roasted cat demon doesn’t sound appetizing?”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “That’s nasty.”

“We’ll do what we have to,” said Seto, “But I think the odds of hitting a town are greater than cooking a monster over a campfire.”

“We don’t have any money,” Hermione reminded him as they ate, “Which means we’ll either have to give up something as barter, or take up some odd jobs in _that_ town for supplies. I doubt they’ll give us free stuff as well.”

“We’ll manage,” said Seto, “Who knows. The people there live closer to the Witch’s castle than Scarletton’s citizens. They may have a better way of getting rid of the cat creatures.”

She put her hands on her hips and shot him a hard, yet teasing glance. “I didn’t do so bad myself, you know!”

They finished eating the remainder of the fruit left over from yesterday and she followed him back out of the tent and into the bright sunlight. “I didn’t see _you_ any more successful at driving that thing away!”

Seto got to work taking down the tent. “I _did_ practically spear it out of the sky….”

“ _Spear_ it?” She rolled her eyes and hugged her wand closer to her chest. “More like you knocked it in the face. I’m surprised that you didn’t break this in the process.”

He was quiet for several minutes while he worked to collapse their shelter. “I think you’re underestimating how – hm. This isn’t going to work at all.”

Hermione’s beaded bag sat beside him on the ground. The tent was folded down next to him and glared down at it, arms crossed.

She saw the problem almost instantly, and her shoulders sagged, optimism dashed. “It’s not going to go back in, is it?”

“Nope.”

Hermione dropped down beside the bag and examined it closely. “It’s just…so _weird_. Clearly, real world magic is still working on it, because everything that originally was in there is still there! But once you take anything out….”

“Real world magic doesn’t work properly here,” said Seto, “Which means once something is out, it won’t go back in unless it can conventionally be crammed inside. It’s baffling to me too. If you can’t cast your real spells here, it wouldn’t make sense for your bag to work at all in the first place.” He shook his head and glared up at the sky. “But…we also have to consider where we are. I wouldn’t be surprised if that snake is changing the rules as we go along to better suit his whims.”

“You think he’s doing this on purpose?”

“Oh, definitely. If it made our lives harder, he _absolutely_ would.”

“Well,” she sighed, running her hand along the fabric of the tent, “I don’t know how I feel about leaving this behind. It’s our only shelter.”

Seto stood up and looked both ways down the road. “Judging by the map in the Mayor’s office, we should be about a day’s journey from the Witch’s castle. If we leave the tent here, we can use it again on our trip back.”

“I don’t know…what if someone else comes across it?”

“Well, I wasn’t just going to leave it in plain sight,” said Seto. He pointed to a small cluster of rocks near a wild bush. “We can hide it in there.”

Hermione still didn’t seem too convinced.

He raised an eyebrow. “Unless you would rather carry it around all day.”

Even broken down, and without the enchantments enlarging the inside, it wasn’t a lightweight. And since it would not fit back into her bag, that meant they would have to haul it, and its tethers, _and_ their weapons. It was doable for sure, but it would only become a hindrance if they were attacked again.

“No…not really.”

She sat back in the grass and watched as he wedged it between the far side of the rocks and the brush, and then as he got out the dagger and started to whittle at the bark on one of the trees along the roadside.

“Are we going to remember that tree?” she asked as he chipped off a second piece of bark. “I’m sure it can’t be the only one with a few chips in the side of it.”

Seto didn’t answer her and remained focused on his task. Once he finished, several minutes later, he stepped back to admire his handiwork. “Oh, I don’t know,” he grinned at her and shifted to the side so she could see the rather familiar ‘KC’ insignia left behind. “I don’t think this is something you’ll find just anywhere around here.”

She laughed quietly. “No, you’re right. If we found a Kaiba Corp in this place, I’d be a bit concerned, especially since the only other person who would be running it is back in Scarletton City.”

Hermione looped her arm though his and gestured to the road. The sunlight filtering in through the treetops caught the blue stones just right, emitting off a brilliant sparkle. “Ready?”

“As ready as we’ll ever be,” said Seto. “We’re heading deeper into the woods now. Who knows what’s in there waiting for us?”

“Well,” she said, her voice light. “I’m going to be optimistic that there won’t be any bandits in there.”

“Sure,” he said, “And if there are, they don’t stand a chance.”

“Yeah,” Hermione smiled into his arm as they rounded a curve in the road. “All you need is something long and skinny and you probably spear them to a tree.”

“Heh. I was thinking more or less either setting them on fire or…”

“Ugh,” she swatted his arm as they passed by a boulder in the grass. “Always so violent.”

Neither of them noticed the pair of eyes chipped into the rock’s surface on the far side. It blinked, watching them follow the road through the trees until they were both out of sight.

The rock’s features shifted into a grin before the eyes vanished completely.

* * *

“Oh, it feels good to be out of the trees,” said Hermione, rushing forward a few steps ahead and looking around. This portion of the woods wasn’t as dense as they initially believed it to be, and she was originally expecting them to be traveling through them for the majority of the day.

“And look!” she pointed out in front of her. “That must be the castle up there!”

“It certainly _looks_ foreboding enough,” said Seto.

“Yeah,” Hermione glanced at it again. “Definitely doesn’t give off the welcome appearance that Hogwarts had.”

“Well, we’re not going in to make friends,” said Seto, eyeing the path ahead of them. The sapphire road continued up ahead until it reached a large field of flowers. He couldn’t see the end of the field from his current vantage point, but the road did continue on past it and up to the rocky cliffs surrounding the castle.

Hermione knelt down next to the edge of the flower field. “Oh! These are the same ones that were around when we first got here!” She plucked one from the ground and raised it to her nose. “They smell so nice! Here – take a whiff.”

Seto looked at it. It wasn’t like any flower he had seen before. As far as smells went, it was okay. A bit sweet, in his opinion, but he wouldn’t call himself a botanical expert to know any better.

Hermione straightened back up and looked across the field. “It looks like we just have to make our way through, and then we’ll make it to the castle. That’s rather easy.”

“A bit _too_ easy.” Seto frowned. A field without any tree cover in plain sight of the castle? Sure, they could see the path ahead well enough, but that also meant the Witch and anyone else in the castle would be able to spot them. “I’d feel better if there was another route.”

“I…don’t think there is one,” said Hermione, “All that’s around us is field, unless we go back the way we came. But there were no other paths in the road to take, so we’re going to have to cross this.”

She started through the field a few paces, stopped and stared down at her feet.

“What is it?” Seto asked.

Hermione shook her head, and knelt down to touch the ground. “It’s the _road_ ,” she said, straightening up to look at Seto, baffled. “The road doesn’t just stop and start again on the other side of this field. The flowers are growing _over_ it.”

“ _What?”_ Seto moved to stand next to her and looked down. Sure enough, he could see tiny bits of the road under the flowers. But how was that possible? Did the flowers root through the cobblestones?

“That’s so _weird_ ,” she said. “I mean – this is a dreamworld, so really, anything is possible, but….”

“We can dwell on the logistics _after_ we cross,” said Seto, “I’d rather just get through this before the Witch realizes we’re close to the castle.”

With a quick glance behind her, Hermione followed after Seto through the flowers. Every now and then she would feel a light breeze in the air, and the flowers’ scent would drift past her nose.

It was strange – before, when they had first arrived in the Shadow Game, or even when they were on the edge of the field, she had to have one of the flowers right up in her face in order to smell them. Now she was able to smell them without even picking one up.

And the aroma seemed to change. One or two flowers, by themselves had a nice, pleasant smell to them. Now it seemed a bit strong, and there was something a bit different about it that she couldn’t quite place. Was it because they were surrounded by thousands of them, rather than just one single cluster of petals?

Maybe it was all in her head.

They paused at the top of the low hill overlooking the rest of the space before them. “Oh…” Hermione sighed. From the vantage point before traipsing through the flowers, she could see up to the point where they were standing. But now, standing a little higher up than before, there was a _lot_ more meadow to cover. “I didn’t realize this area was so big…”

Seto blinked. “I didn’t either. But we’re already…” He turned back to judge how far they had already walked. “…maybe a third of the way through, so we just have to press onward.”

They continued through the meadow as the sun began to set for the day, and it soon became obvious that the further through the field they went, the denser the flowers became. Hermione noted that when they first stepped off of the road and into flowers, they weren’t very high off the ground, maybe hitting just above her ankles. But now? They were almost as high as her knees. 

And she was beginning to think the sweet smell was starting to have some sort of an effect on her. When it started, she wasn’t sure, but she didn’t realize how far back she had been trailing behind Seto until he stopped up ahead to wait for her.

How did this come on so suddenly? She felt so much more alert before starting through the flowers. So why did she feel tired all of a sudden?

When she finally stopped next to him, she felt herself sway slightly.

“Are you okay?”

Hermione shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m starting to feel lightheaded…”

He reached out and gently took hold of her arm before she started to wobble again. “Your cheeks are all flushed.”

Hermione blinked and put her hand up to her face. “Really?”

“Yeah…” He gave her a quick look-over. Did he miss some sort of injury from when the creature attacked them yesterday?

She shook her head. “I…I don’t know what it is all of a sudden….I’m just so tired.”

“Sit for a minute,” said Seto. “We can take a break if you need to.”

Hermione looked around at all of the high flowers surrounding them. “I don’t know how…but I think it’s partly from the flowers. The smell is just so strong…you don’t smell it?”

“It is a bit much,” he admitted, “We’ve been walking for a while without a break, and I’m starting to feel it too. But I’m used to powering through exhaustion so much that it really doesn’t get to me until it’s too late.”

“I wish I could use some of that willpower right now,” she muttered, as movement behind Seto caught her eye. She shifted to the side a step to peer around him and gasped. “Oh…”

Seto twisted around and followed her gaze to the skies.

At least four winged creatures were soaring towards them. They were still far enough away that he couldn’t tell what they were holding, but it looked long and skinny. Swords, perhaps? Spears?

It didn’t much matter what it was – they were approaching, and _fast_.

The lead demon suddenly started its descent, and Seto narrowed his eyes.

Like the one from yesterday, it was gunning right for Hermione. But why _only_ her? This didn’t make any sense!

Seto immediately tightened his grip on her arm and pulled her both into him and to the ground, rolling to the side just as the creature would have made a swipe for them. He may not know what these things wanted with Hermione, but he wasn’t about to let them make off with her again.

“Hey!” Hermione gasped as she landed under him. She started to get up, but he held out an arm stopping her as he reached for his sword.

“Stay down,” he hissed.

Hermione rolled her eyes. What, did he expect to fight all of them by himself? There were _four_ of them!

“Let me help you!” she hissed, pushing him off of her. Grabbing her wand from where it landed next to her, she got to her feet, and instantly felt dizzy.

Seto quickly swung the sword out, and didn’t bother to hide the flash of triumph in his eyes as the blade made contact with one of the cat creatures. It howled and retreated back, higher into the sky and out of his reach while cradling an arm to its chest.

Another dove in closer, and caught Seto’s blade against its own. A second of the uninjured creatures joined in, switching Seto to a defensive stance. He barely had time to knock aside one longsword from getting him in the chest. His arms started to feel more and more sluggish with each swing.

It seemed whatever was affecting Hermione was hitting him now as well, and he swore under his breath. Now was _not_ the time to start getting tired. He couldn’t afford for the monsters to get a one-up on them.

He could see Hermione, wand arm raised, out of the corner of his vision, but it didn’t look like she was having any luck at casting anything. She hardly looked able to be on her feet.

Seto managed to block the next attack and caught a small blast of fire dart out towards the third flying cat, sending it scampering back. The ball of fire wasn’t nearly as large as the one she summoned the previous evening. If they were going to drive the monsters away, it needed to be bigger. More intimidating.

“You can do it,” he said, and backed up a step, watching the two creatures facing him curiously. Aside from their weapons clashes, they only came so close to the ground. It appeared that once they came too near to any of the flowers, they backed off. He expected at least one of them to make another swipe for Hermione, but aside from their first snatch attempt, they didn’t swoop down close enough to try again – not after he pulled her out of harm’s way and to the ground.

Other than the occasional sword block on each side, they stayed, circling above like vultures. Waiting.

Seto narrowed his eyes. The creatures knew whatever was up with this field, and didn’t want any part of it. Hermione was definitely onto something – the flowers _were_ having an adverse effect on them, and the Witch’s minions were going to let it run its course.

They needed to get out of the meadow, but unfortunately, they were still in the middle of it, and the odds of reaching the edge without 1- succumbing to the exhaustion forced upon them, or 2-being picked off by the cat demons was slim. Especially since Hermione seemed to be on the verge of collapse.

Hermione blinked repeatedly, trying to keep her eyes open. “I’m trying.” Her voice was shaky. “I-I can’t focus….”

Would the creatures swarm them once they fell to the flowers’ strange power? They still seemed solely interested in Hermione. And it gave Seto an idea. A very _risky_ idea, but if it drove the monsters back without him keeling over, perhaps he could get them out of the field, and they could plan their raid on the castle once recovered.

But first…he needed the cats to get closer.

With a wary eye still on the closest hovering creature, Seto lowered his sword.

The cats didn’t come any closer.

_Good_.

Seto slowly backed up another step until he was next to Hermione and put his arm around her shoulder. “We need to move,” he said quietly, “Can you make it?”

Her head tilted to the side as she stared up at him. “I can’t…” She was barely audible now. “I’m just so sleepy….”

“It’s alright,” he said, “I’ll carry you.”

She blinked at him incredulously, though half-lidded eyes, before managing to shake her head at him. “I’ll slow you down…”

“I’m not going to leave you,” he said, “Lean on me.”

She sighed heavily and nodded, taking a step with him. “How are you still so…here?” she asked.

“Sheer stubbornness and iron determination.” He honestly wasn’t sure. Maybe she was just tired from the journey, and the magic of the flowers was just icing on the cake. Perhaps she just breathed in more of the aroma than he did.

Or maybe this whole plot was made to take her out, and not him. 

She smiled slightly, her eyes barely open now. “Naturally,” she breathed, and she dropped her wand into the flowers in favor of trying to latch onto him as her legs buckled.

Seto grabbed hold of her as her arms dropped away, her body limp, and set her down in the grass. She was breathing steadily, asleep.

He remained crouched next to her, careful to breathe in as little of the dangerous sweet smell as possible. From somewhere behind him, he could have sworn he heard the beat of wings drop a little closer, and he turned his head ever so slightly to see out of the corner of his eye. Two of the creatures had descended, but were still keeping a good clearance from the top of the flowers.

Seto leaned forward, pressing one hand against the ground, as if to brace himself upright, and reached out with the other to rest against the handle to Hermione’s wand. He pulled it towards him ever so slightly, and pretended to pitch forward, as if he was on the verge of sleep too.

One creature dropped lower, just out of sword-striking distance.

_Perfect_. Now he had one chance to make this work.

His fingers closed around the wand. Magic in this land wasn’t cast by uttering fancy Latin phrases. It wasn’t based on how much of an artistic pattern the conjuring stick was directed through the air. The only thing that mattered was your mental stamina. Focus. Willpower. _Intent_.

He gritted his teeth. He survived his abduction and torture by Voldemort’s hands. The Shadow Magus couldn’t break him. And he certainly wasn’t about to be bested by a damn _flower_.

He closed his eyes briefly, steeled himself, and then whirled around, aiming high, and felt the heat of the eruption from the end of Hermione’s wand before his arm even finished its arc.


	6. Chapter 6

Hermione reached up once again and pulled at the bars to the window, and like the other three times she had already tried this – they didn’t budge. She had woken in the tower facing off the cliffside of the castle overlooking nothing but a vast desert standing between the Witch’s fortress and a large mountain _far_ in the distance.

She sighed, rubbing at her arms as she turned back around. The tower was cold. Whoever put her in here took her beaded bag, and with it, all of her supplies. Which made her pause – who pulled her from the flowers? They made her so tired when she and Seto were trying to cross. Was it the winged cat creatures that brought her here? Seto wasn’t in the room with her, so was he elsewhere in the castle? Or did they leave him, possibly injured or worse, back in the fields?

A stray flower petal was stuck to her shirt and she plucked it away. She didn’t seem to be hurt. At least not physically. There was something, a feeling that she couldn’t place, that something wasn’t quite right. At the least, she guessed it was from waking disoriented from a nap that was anything but restful.

How could it? She had succumbed to some sort of magical sleep, and woke on the floor of the tower room that was sparsely furnished. A small dais sat in the center of the rounded room, with a tall, hard armchair set up in front of a massive crystal ball that had to be at least ten times bigger than anything she had ever seen in Professor Trelawney’s classroom. Both the chair and the crystal ball were covered in a fair amount of dust. Clearly, no one had spent much time in here.

The door to the tower was large and felt incredibly heavy when she pounded on it before, and it was predictably locked. If anyone heard her knocking from the other side, they didn’t acknowledge it.

There had to be a way to get out of here. Hermione gave another glance about the room. A broken mirror hung near the barred window, a small table bare of any decoration stood along the opposite side. She didn’t see anything that could get the door open, or knock the bars off the window.

There had to be _something_ around she could use. The last thing she wanted was to find out what the Witch had in store for her. She needed to get out and find Seto. They could regroup and come up with a plan.

She swallowed, anxious, as she peered as well as she could out the window and down the tower. It was a _long_ way down. Getting out safely that way was out of the question. She tilted her head to see around one of the window bars and felt something cool against her neck.

Hermione froze. She wasn’t wearing any jewelry. But when she moved to stand before the broken mirror along the wall, she saw herself wearing a strange, metal collar. It definitely hadn’t been there when she and Seto entered this world, or he would have said something. He was observant; there was no possible way he would have completely overlooked it. And even if he had, _she_ would have seen it in the mirror at Anzu’s inn. Which meant someone must have placed it on her while she was unconscious.

But why?

Some sort of runic inscription wrapped around the center and around to the back but it was impossible to tell what it said and didn’t look like anything she had ever seen in her three years of studying various runes.

Hermione reached up to tug at it and immediately yanked her hands away the instant they touched it. It was _hot_. …But how was that possible, to be cold on one side and the complete opposite on the other? If she really tried to take it off, she was likely to burn her hands. Not an ideal scenario.

…Until she knew what it was for, it would just have to stay on.

The latch on the other side of the door clicked and it swung open. Two winged cat creatures leapt inside, followed by a rather short woman in a tall pointed hat and glittering red shoes that clashed horribly with her pink dress.

The Witch flashed Hermione a wide, sugary smile, one Hermione was all-too-familiar with, and like all the times she had seen it before, knew it couldn’t possibly be genuine.

In a world where everyone they had so far come across resembled people that Seto mainly knew from Domino City, it was quite a shock – yet surprisingly fitting – to see the spitting image of Dolores Umbridge standing in front of her

“Well,” said the Witch, her voice full of the false sweetness that Hermione remembered from those two years at Hogwarts, “Isn’t this lovely? It isn’t often I have visitors! How very nice of you to come and visit me in my loneliness.”

“I didn’t come here by choice,” Hermione said.

Umbridge raised her eyebrows innocently. “Oh? I thought I was doing the proper thing and rescuing you from my garden. The very one you and your friend were attempting to cross to reach my castle. Only a _fool_ would make the journey through the flora without proper protection…and you just _waltzed right in_.”

So it _was_ the flowers that did her in. Suspicions validated. “What have you done with Seto? Where is he?”

“Seto? You mean the boy who was with you?” Umbridge’s wide smile transitioned into something awful. “ _Nothing_. By now, he’s probably dead.”

Hermione’s jaw dropped. “ _What_?!”

The Witch stepped closer to the crystal ball in the center of the tower and raised her hand over it. “Come, see for yourself.” She looked back to the ball. “Show me the boy.”

Hermione eyed the Witch cautiously before stopping on the other side of the crystal ball in time for the grey smoke inside to start to swirl around and change colors. It finally cleared out showing the field of flowers , and Seto, sprawled out in the flowerbed alongside the edge of the hidden sapphire road. The faint bits of smoke still swirling inside the ball made parts hard to see, but she thought she saw blotches of red along the side of his face, and she had to hope those were only broken flower petals resting on his skin and nothing else.

Knowing that the cat creatures had tried to attack them more than once though…the odds were not in her favor.

Umbridge circled around her. “I’m sure you’re aware by now of the natural sedative emitted by the flowers. Why, if one isn’t careful they could go down for a quick nap without anyone else the wiser. And naturally, the longer you breathe in their deceptively pleasant aroma, the more potent it is. And if there isn’t anyone to wake you, why, you could just sleep forever!”

Umbridge slyly grinned at her cat demons. “I _had_ instructed my pets to rescue you both, after all, but I’m afraid they didn’t feel safe. Not after he _roasted_ one of their own.”

“But – he would have been asleep!” Hermione said, “There was no need to leave him there!” She turned back to the crystal ball, pressed her hands against the cool surface and looked down at Seto again. He _appeared_ to be sleeping, but she could only see him from about the neck up. What if one of the creatures ran him through with his sword, and then just left him? He could be _dying_ and they were so far through the field that no one would be able to safely get him out without succumbing to the flowers’ magic themselves.

“ _Please_ ,” Hermione pleaded, starting forward towards the Witch. She must have gotten a step too close for one of the cat monsters swooped down, snarling at her, and she immediately froze. “Don’t leave him there, he could die!”

“Well, he could already be,” the Witch said with a dismissive laugh. “Bringing him into my castle would have been out of kindness. But he managed to severely hurt one of my little darlings. I don’t need that sort of danger in my home,” Her grin widened. “Besides. I don’t need him. _Only you_.”

 _What?_ “…Why?”

Both Umbridge and one of the creatures took a step forward, and Hermione took an equal step backwards, hit the armchair with the back of her leg, and fell into it.

“Why, because you have _the gift_ , dearie.”

_The what!?_

The Witch tilted her head, studying Hermione carefully. There was a look aimed at her that she couldn’t quite place. They’ve never truly met before, yet there was some sort of angry recognition on the girl’s face. But to draw a blank look when speaking of something so obvious – did she really not understand?

“ _The gift_ ,” said the Witch, “ _Magic_. You are a crafter of spells, are you not?”

Hermione glanced back again, briefly, at Seto in the crystal ball and then back up at Umbridge. “Why does that matter?”

Umbridge laughed, and started circling around the chair like a vulture. “Oh, it matters a great deal. You came from Scarletton City, did you not? Surely those illustrious do-gooders told you all about me.”

She stepped up suddenly on the step before the chair and loomed in, smirking as Hermione shank back, startled. “So, tell me. What did old Mayor Kaiba send you off to do?”

Hermione avoided her gaze.

“Tut tut,” said Umbridge, tilting Hermione’s chin back towards her. She snapped her fingers with her free hand, and the picture in the crystal ball faded back, leaving the original murky smoke. “Eyes on me, dearie. Play nice, and _maybe_ , I’ll send one of my pets to fetch your friend out of my garden.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at her. “You don’t know? We can’t be the first people to come to your castle. There _have_ been others who came from Scarletton City and were never seen again. What did you do to them?”

“Well now, it depends, doesn’t it,” said the Witch, looking fondly over at her two demon pets. “I’ve transformed a number of pesky intruders into soldiers for my bidding. But they didn’t have the _gift_ that you do. Pesky troublemakers like you have to be treated a bit more… _delicately_.”

“Why does it matter if someone has magic or not?” said Hermione, “If you’re capturing them and transforming them into monsters, what harm can they possibly do to you? You’ve _killed_ people, and ruined others’ lives…for what – a pair of shoes?”

Umbridge’s grin widened. “Aha, now we get to the heart of our little matter. You came for the Ruby Slippers. But why – what did the Mayor tell you about them?”

Hermione glared at her.

“Well, you’ll have to do better than that if you want me to go after your friend.”

Hermione scowled. “That’s it’s the most powerful artifact in the land…and that the Enchantress kept them in Scarletton City to keep peace across the realm.”

“Is that right?” the Witch laughed. “Is _that_ what you were told?” She shook her head slightly and began circling around Hermione again. “The Ruby Slippers are indeed powerful, but they don’t belong on some pedestal in that glass prison back in Scarletton City. The Enchantress has no claim to them. _I_ forged the shoes for my sister, known as the Witch of the East, and she was senselessly killed by the _people_ and their lust for power. The shoes are rightfully mine and no number of traveling ‘heroes’ sent by the capital city are going to get me to give them up.”

She eyed Hermione, eyebrow raised. “What do you say about _that_ , hm?”

“I have no reason to trust anything you say,” said Hermione, “For all I know, you’re lying to me.”

“And the Mayor of Scarletton City is any more trustworthy?” The Witch snorted. “You’ve known him just as long as you have me.”

“The people of Scarletton City aren’t the ones attacking anyone. You came and got your shoes back from the town, yet your minion still terrorize the towns,” Hermione snapped, “If it was just a matter of collecting a family heirloom, the attacks should have stopped. Face it – you’re benefitting too much from the power trip that the shoes give you and you use it to take pleasure in hurting innocent people! Perhaps the Ruby Slippers _are_ better off locked up where they can’t be used to harm anyone!”

“And that’s not _your_ decision to make,” said the Witch. “I will do whatever is necessary to protect what belongs to me. The little soldiers-for-hire that the cities send out – I don’t care about them. What’s another new pet to help maintain control over the land? But every now and then…”

She planted her hands along the sides of the crystal ball and loomed over it. “…Someone comes along with the gift.”

“Like us…”

“Oh yes. _You_ are a problem that I soon will have eradicated.”

“I haven’t _done_ anything to you,” said Hermione. “And clearly Seto and I aren’t powerful enough to touch you. We’re not a threat!”

“Mm, nice try, dear,” said Umbridge as one of the cat demons snarled. “Passing through the country on a nice little bounty quest? _Of course_ you are a threat to me.”

She straightened back up. “But I needn’t worry for much longer. Your friend is going to die out in the garden. By now he’s probably breathed in enough of the poison that he won’t wake even if we dragged him out. And with the two of you having traveled so far into the thick of the field, there is no way _anyone_ would be able to save him without succumbing themselves.”

Umbridge flashed a sugary triumphant smile. “And as for you…I think a change in scenery is in order.”

Hermione drew back. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t risk someone with magical gifts overcoming my transformation spells. It’s far too dangerous for me to keep you here. Which is why I have sent word to the Nome Kingdom. A courier will be here at dawn to transport you to the Nome King’s mountain, where you can join the rest of those so-called ‘heroes’ in mining for enchanted stones. And then I won’t have to worry about you ever again.”

“What’s to say I won’t escape and come back?” said Hermione. There was no way she was letting herself get shipped off like owl mail.

Umbridge let out a high-pitched cackle. “Oh, dearie. _No one_ escapes from the Nome Kingdom. And even _if_ you managed to do the impossible and get out of the caverns, you won’t be able to return to Šwt without magical means.”

Sensing the next question on the tip of Hermione’s tongue, Umbridge’s smile widened and she raised a hand to briefly pat at the base of her neck. “I’m sure by now you’ve noticed the gift that I gave you…”

She didn’t bother waiting for Hermione to acknowledge her. “That collar will suppress your magical ability, rendering it useless. No magic, no threat. And you’ll only do more damage to yourself if you attempt to take it off.”

The cat demons in the room swarmed around her as she moved towards the door. “I’d make yourself comfortable,” said Umbridge, barely turning her head to look back to Hermione, “Until the Wheelers arrive, this room is your new home. And I wouldn’t try anything funny about getting out. My protectors aren’t very fond of you and your friend. And without any magic to protect you….

She let her words sink in, and then flashed another one of her awful smiles. “ _Sweet dreams_ , hero.”

* * *

“I would conserve your strength,” said Yami. He sat along the edge of a rock, a safe distance away from the edge of the flower field and sharpened the blade of his axe.

Night had fallen some time ago, and it was a complete miracle that they had managed to get as far as they did. They had managed to track Seto and Hermione up to the vast field right before the Witch’s castle. But that was as far as they could see. And in trying to cross, Yuugi had fallen prey to the strange scent the flowers had given off, and he and Jou had to carry him all the way through to the other side.

For whatever reason, he and Jou were unaffected by the trap and they took in shifts going in and out of the flowers in search of Seto and Hermione. If Yuugi had fallen asleep not far into the meadow, surely the others had to be in there too. But with the sun setting, they couldn’t risk one of the Witch’s minions gunning for Yuugi while he slept.

Yami lost track of how many times he had switched off with Jonouchi in search of their new friends, but it was long after the sun had finished setting that he spotted Jou emerge from the meadow, awkwardly dragging Seto along with him.

Yuugi had woken up a short while ago, but instead of joining Yami over by the rock, he stayed curled up along the ground, both to keep Seto warm, and sort of use his fur as a pillow for him until his prolonged exposure to the flowers ran their course.

Jou, however, kept pacing back and forth between Yuugi and Yami.

“I’m bored,” said Jou. “And antsy. How do we know those winged demon guys won’t come back for ‘im?”

“We don’t,” said Yami, “But…I feel like they would have had ample opportunity to do it. And he’s still out here. Which makes me think that they left him behind, especially since we scoured through the area where you found him, and Hermione is missing.”

Yuugi reached his paws out in a stretch, careful not to dislodge how Seto was propped against him. “I just wish we knew how long he was left in the field. I mean…they had a pretty good head start on us leaving Scarletton City. He could be this way for a while….”

Jou stopped pacing in front of them and then unceremoniously plopped down onto the ground, squinting at Yuugi through the darkness. “What about _you_ , pal? _You_ feelin’ alright? Cuz _you_ were snoozin’ for a good bit too.”

“I’m alright,” said Yuugi. He fidgeted again, gently pressing a paw against Seto’s forehead. He couldn’t make heads or tails whether Seto was warm enough, or if that even made any sort of difference at this point. “I’m just…worried, that’s all. Aside from the sedative in the flowers, we can’t tell if he’s hurt.”

Jou frowned and cast his eyes down at the grass. “Didn’t mean to make things difficult,” he said, feeling incredibly guilty. “But…you know…”

“We’ll be fine without a campfire, Jou,” said Yami. “It’s better to go without it and not attract attention. But…it might be helpful to come up with some sort of plan.”

“For what?” asked Yuugi.

Yami blinked and pointed his axe towards the castle. “Regardless of whether or not Seto wakes, I’ll bet Hermione is in there, and she’s going to need our help. We can either storm the castle under the cloud of darkness…or prepare for the demons to come after us in the daylight.”

Jou plucked a stray bit of straw from the front of his tunic and spun it between his fingers. “Don’t see how we’re gonna be able to do much. That Witch’s got a freakin’ army! And there’s only three of us.”

“We have to _try_ ,” said Yuugi fiercely. “Seto and Hermione offered us help. We owe it to them to return their kindness.”

“Runnin’ headfirst into that castle don’t seem smart to me,” said Jou, “We stick out like a sore thumb. How much you want to bet that we’re the only talkin’ lion, tin dude, and scarecrow in Šwt?”

“I’d like to get closer,” said Yami. “The rocks around the castle could provide cover. We could see how the place is guarded. Maybe there is a way we can sneak in undetected.”

Jou stumbled to his feet. “Well, it’s better than sittin’ around, doin’ nuthin. Let’s go.”

Yuugi shook his head. “I can’t just leave Seto here. You two can go and report back.”

“Absolutely not,” said Yami. “I won’t leave you unprotected to fend for yourself. We go as a unit, or not at all.”

“Nah, _I’ll_ do it,” said Jou. “I don’t have a fancy axe or anythin’, but I can still tiptoe around. And if there are more of them flower patches, I can get through just fine.”

He leveled Yami a hard look. “Keep ‘em safe, Yami.”

Yami nodded. “And you be careful, Jou. The rocks don’t seem to be far from here. If you’re not back before long, we’ll come after you.”

“Don’ worry about me,” said Jou. “I got this.”

* * *

Back and forth, from one end of the room to the other. The window to the opposite wall and back. The dais to the door to the mirror and around once more.

Hermione huffed, frustrated. It was impossible to keep track of the passage of time, but it felt like night had fallen so long ago. There was no indication that the sun would soon be rising, but it would eventually. And then she would be in the Wheelers’ hands…whoever they were.

No one had entered the tower since the Witch initially came to visit. More than once did Hermione lean up against the heavy door and try to listen to what was happening on the other side, but it was impossible to hear anything. And without a door handle on her side, she couldn’t get past it unless someone came in.

She had a feeling no one was going to come for her until morning, and by then it might be too late to try and escape. And how could she, with no decent way of fighting back against the Witch or her winged army? Without her wand or her bag, she had _nothing_. Even if she found a wand, there was no way to perform any magic, not while she was stuck in this magic collar.

Hermione sat on the edge of the armchair and closed her eyes. She still felt a bit lightheaded. There was no way by now that it was still a side-effect of the meadow, so she guessed it had to be coming from the collar. Three circles of the room ago, she had stood in front of the mirror trying to twist it around so she could see the back of it. There _was_ some sort of clasp on it, but she couldn’t get a feel of how to unhook it before the blistering heat became too much for her hands.

She hugged her arms close and took a deep breath. There had to be _something_ she could do. If she couldn’t get out, maybe there was still a way she could try and send for help.

 _Think, Hermione_ , she said to herself, _what can you do?_

Opening her eyes again, she stared ahead, right at the crystal ball. The Witch had used it to show her an image of Seto, but that had to have been hours ago. Was he still trapped under an enchanted slumber in the meadow? Could the Witch have actually brought him inside and he was trapped in another tower or dungeon of the castle?

Maybe he was outside, trying to find a way in to get her.

The crystal ball was the only way she could find out, but it couldn’t work against her collar…right?

There was really only one way to find out.

She leaned forward and pressed her palms against the ball’s surface. “Show him to me.”

Nothing happened.

Hermione frowned, tilting her head slightly. _How did she do this before?_ She shifted closer to the edge of her seat, thinking back to what the Umbridge lookalike had done when they were talking about Seto. _…Oh…_

She let go of the ball and, after a brief hesitation, waved her hand over the top. “Show me Seto.”

At first, nothing seemed to happen, and she slumped back in the chair and turned to look out the window with a resigned sigh. But the barest shred of movement caught the corner of her eye and she looked back in time to see some of the smoke inside the crystal ball come to a stop.

The smoke had been stationary all night. It only moved once before, when the Witch was controlling the ball.

Her eyes brightened. It worked! Sort of, at least. Waving her hand over the top had to be the right thing to do, but her command wasn’t strong enough to make the inside completely come to life.

Excited, she got up and circled around the stand before waving her hand back overtop and repeating her command. It took another moment for the smoke to start swirling again, and she watched as it started to change colors before returning back to its stagnant grey.

“Come on,” she pleaded, “Please work….”

She waved her hand once more over the ball and then pressed her palms against the cool surface. “Show Seto to me, _please_.”

The smoke didn’t take nearly as long this time to start to transform. A darkened shape started to come together through the center of the crystal ball, but before she could focus on what it was, she gasped, feeling a burst of something painfully hot around her neck.

Hermione froze and glanced down. She knew the collar burned when she purposely touched it, but when otherwise left alone it didn’t hurt her. Was this how it kept the wearer from producing magic?

“No, no no no!” she waved her hand back over the crystal ball as the smoke returned to normal. “Please come back!”

The hot flare started again the instant the grey mist started transforming, and she ignored it, hands pressed once again against the glass. Magic was focus-based. Each time she got a little closer to seeing something in the crystal ball, and she couldn’t let a little pain stop her from seeing whatever it was that the smoke was trying to show her.

The collar grew hotter as Seto slowly came into view. He was still asleep, but the red that she saw on his face before was gone. Perhaps it was a stray petal after all, and it blew off in a breeze.

But that wasn’t the only thing she noticed – she could just make out that he was no longer surrounded by the wicked flora. But then where was he? In the castle perhaps? Surely only someone with wings would be able to pull him from the middle of the meadow without fully falling asleep themselves. And the only ones she could immediately think of with that capability were the winged cat demons.

But the Witch made it sound like she was going to leave him to die outside. Did she have a change of heart?

She tried to look closer, for any other detail, but had to stagger back as she felt the collar start to burn her skin and tried to tug it as far out as the minimal slack on it allowed.

…Which only resulted in blistering her fingers and the back of her neck instead.

Distracted, the image of Seto vanished again, and she sank back in the chair, breathing heavily, waiting for the collar to cool itself again.

Only it didn’t seem to want to. She felt the heat fade a little, but it still remained uncomfortably hot. Did it have a mind of its own? An inkling that she might try to activate the crystal ball again? Was it _waiting_ for her to try and perform a shred of magic? Considering each time, the collar’s reaction to her magic became more and more extreme, she had no doubt it was capable of seriously burning her.

Hermione pressed her lips into a thin line and stared at the crystal ball. Seto was alive. She knew that much. _Where_ he was happened to be the next puzzle to solve, but at least she had a way of finding out how.

And it seemed the Witch wasn’t completely truthful about taking away her magic. Clearly she could still cast spells of a sort. But it was obvious the collar was meant to keep her from trying, and was punishing her for each attempt. No doubt eventually it would be far too hazardous to try anything.

Did other prisoners keep up with it as much as she had, and the Witch just never knew? It seemed like a rather big oversight, especially since it was designed to keep her docile and trapped in some labor camp.

Hermione looked to the door, pensive. The Shadow Magus created this world, and purposely placed familiar faces into important roles in the story. The Witch looked like Dolores Umbridge.

 _Oh, what was it she used to say…that lines were a deterrent to deviant behavior…or something…_?

It made sense, in a way. The witch made Harry and Seto write lines with a torturous quill. If they didn’t want additional detentions, they had to stop doing the thing they had to write lines over. _A deterrent…_

And the collar was _her_ deterrent to casting magic. Unless she wanted to continue hurting herself.

But it didn’t make much sense. The Shadow Magus _had_ to know she was adept at spells. Why did he allow her to use magic here? If he truly wanted to make things as difficult as possible for them, then she should have been stripped of her abilities from the start. What was his angle? 

Hermione shook her head. The only way to finding out was to return the ruby slippers to Scarletton City and get out of this place. And she couldn’t do that sitting around in here.

She lightly ghosted her fingers along the edge of the collar. It felt a bit cooler now. It still didn’t feel like it was back to the way it originally was, but it was at least manageable now… _for_ now. 

Hermione leaned forward and raised her arm back up towards the crystal ball. There was work to do.

* * *

Jonouchi climbed awkwardly onto the last boulder and gazed out at the castle. There was a bit of decline in the valley before reaching the castle’s drawbridge. He couldn’t see any winged creatures or the Witch. The land was eerie and silent and _dark_. The moon was out, but it didn’t do a whole lot to light the area.

He crossed his legs and propped his elbows up on them. “Well…this sure is exciting,” he said to the open air. “No monsters, no _nobody_.”

“Even the drawbridge is down,” he muttered, “What, she expectin’ people to just wanna waltz right in? After goin’ down for a snooze in her garden?” He scoffed. “Biggest ruse I ever saw. All it’s missin’ is a big ol’ ‘IT’S A TRAP’ to just…hang right over the doorway.”

He squinted out through the darkness. “There’s gotta be a different way in… one that ain’t so stupid obvious.”

How long he sat watching the castle was lost on him, and he eventually shifted to lie on his stomach, his head resting on his arms. Getting down the valley would be easy. Assuming the drawbridge was still down, crossing it would also be just as simple, but by then _someone_ would have to see them. He supposed they _could_ try and cross the narrow moat around the castle and scale maybe one of the sides, but how well would it _really_ work? His clothes might soak through too much and weigh him down, and surely it would do something to his stuffing…but he could probably make it across and continue onwards.

The thought was then tossed. _Yami_. _He’d_ rust instantly, and would be too heavy to drag through the water.

Jou heard a light fluttering of wings and glanced to his left in time to see a crow land on the rock next to him, eyeing him curiously.

He stared at the crow. The crow stared back.

“What’re _you_ lookin’ at?”

The crow tilted its head.

Jou rolled his eyes and sat up. “Look at this, even when I’m _not_ on a dang pole, you birdbrains don’t leave me alone. You been followin’ me all the way from Scarletton City?”

The crow made a low noise, wandered a few steps off, but didn’t fly away.

“Yeah, you turn away,” Jou muttered. “Look at me, talkin’ to a freaking _bird_.” He stretched and then sat cross-legged again. “You wanna hang out? Then you gotta help. Yug’ and Yami are countin’ on me to come up with a plan. How do I get into the castle without getting’ torn to pieces?”

The crow ruffled its feathers.

“Yeah, well, we can’t just fly wherever we want. Quit showin’ off.”

The crow cawed at him, and another landed on his other side.

“ _Oh good_. More the merrier.” Jou rolled his eyes and looked back at the castle. The walls didn’t seem very climbable. And if they weren’t going to use the moat to get around, that meant the drawbridge was their only way in. But how were they going to slip in undetected?

…And where the heck were all those demon things? He expected to see them circling the place. But still nothing.

A light echo of footsteps reached his ears and he leaned forward. A line of men in funky uniforms and long spears started marching out of the castle.

“Ooh…what’s this?” he said. “Haven’t seen those guys before…”

The crow to his right cawed loudly.

Jou put a finger to his lips. “ _Shhhh!_ ”

Another line of guardsmen came around from the side grounds of the castle and they started marching in unison with the ones exiting the front doors.

“What’re they doin’?” Jou muttered, as another two crows joined the party on the rock. A third landed on his head and started poking around at the straw tufting out from under his hat.

“Hey!” he hissed, and waved an arm up at the one picking at his head. “ _Stop that_!” He turned back to the castle. The group that had left through the castle doors started down a path going around the side, the same way the second group had come from, and the other company started through the entrance.

Four guards remained behind, stationed near the edge of the drawbridge.

“Well, that’s no good,” Jou scowled. “Now there’s lackeys…”

Getting past them wouldn’t be easy, but at least there seemed to be only four instead of the entire regimen of soldiers. He didn’t even know the Witch _had_ foot soldiers guarding her fortress. All everyone ever talked about were her winged critter companions!

 _Only four_ …Jou said to himself. _Wait – there are four of us, too!_

The guards wore long coats and helmets that seemed to cover most of their faces, and Jou grinned. He had an idea.

The crow on top of him plucked out a clump of straw from under his hat and Jou jumped up, patting at his head. “ _Oi! Gimme that back!”_

The other crows suddenly took flight from the rock and swarmed around him.

“ _Get outta here_ ,” Jou waved his arms around frantically, shooing the birds away. “Can’t you see I’m trying ta snoop!?”

He leapt forward, snatching back the bit of hair that he lost, and simultaneously toppled face first off of the rock as the small flock of crows scattered.

Jou shoved the last bit of straw back into place, and with a last look at the castle, started back down the path he originally came. _Time to rouse the cavalry._

* * *

“ _Ugh_ ,” Seto groaned as his eyes slowly opened to the starry sky. He had to blink a few times to get his bearings before slowly sitting up and looking around.

Knowing what the meadow did to Hermione, he didn’t expect to wake outside. He guessed that the cat creatures would have dumped him in some forgotten dungeon in the castle. Or they’d just leave him in the flowers.

They _were_ far more interested in her, anyway.

He turned slightly and froze. …Yuugi was curled up on the ground directly behind him. Yami was messing around with his various tin weapons. But Jonouchi? He wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Yuugi lifted his head, after feeling Seto’s weight lifted off of him. “Oh, you’re up! Thank goodness, we’ve been so worried about you.”

Seto massaged his forehead. “How long…have I been out?”

Yami got up from his spot on the rock. “A good while. It took us a long time to even track your path here, and then Jou and I spent most of the night searching the field looking for you.”

Yuugi arched his back in a long stretch, then sat up beside Yami. “They couldn’t find Hermione though…did you guys get separated?”

“No,” said Seto. “Those monsters, they attacked us a few times, and they kept going right for her. If you didn’t find her with me…” He looked to the castle. “She must be in the castle.”

Yami grimaced and set his axe back in its holster. “That’s what we were afraid of. Jou went off ahead to scout out a way into the castle.”

Seto scowled. _Jou_ went off to find a way in? There was no possible way that this would end well. Jonouchi the stumbling scarecrow wasn’t one for stealth. But, now that he was out of the meadow, he could continue onward.

“ _Oi! Yuug’! Yami_!” Jou waved his arms wildly as he ran up the path.

“ _Shh!_ ” Yami hissed as Seto rolled his eyes. “ _Don’t_ draw attention, remember?”

“Sorry…” Jou crouched down, his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. “I got us a way into the castle.”

“’Us’?” Seto raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, we’re coming with you,” said Yuugi, “We can’t just let you keep going on your own.”

“I can handle the castle,” said Seto, and he looked to the ground. Hermione’s wand sat beside him, a little scuffed along the handle, but it still looked alright. But he didn’t see his sword anywhere.

“Sure,” said Yami, “You handled the meadow pretty well. Crossed it _no problem_.”

Seto glared at him.

“Look,” said Yuugi, “There’s no telling what’s inside the castle. There’s nothing wrong with having a little help. There’s a greater chance of success if you let us come with you rather than going alone.”

Seto’s jaw twitched.

“And what if something happens to you?” said Yami, “Hermione’s already in trouble. If you’re lost too, then there really is no hope left for Šwt.”

“ _And,_ since time is of the essence n’ all,” said Jou, throwing his arm around Seto’s shoulders, “While you were snoozing, I _already_ came up with the way in. So we don’t hafta waste any more time.”

Seto shoved his arm off, and brushed away a lingering bit of straw. “ _Fine_.”

“Cool,” said Jou, pointing up the path. “We gotta go tho, there’s only a little window till sunrise.”

“What’s the plan then?” asked Yami.

“It’s not just the Witch’s flyin’ monsters in the castle. She’s got guards too. And they seem to change up every so often. We take out a couple, steal their uniforms, and then we can move through the place undetected.”

Yami blinked. “That…that is not a terrible plan.”

“Then let’s go,” Seto snapped. He plucked up Hermione’s wand from the ground. “Where’s my sword?”

“Yer what?”

Seto shifted his narrowed gaze onto Jou. “ _My sword_.”

“You had a sword?”

“ _Yes_.”

“Well, I didn’t see it, it was dark out,” said Jou, and when Seto looked to argue, held up his hand and shot back, “You know how long me and Yami had to scour this field to find ya? _Hours_. And that’s _after_ we had to drag Yuug’ through cuz he didn’t make it on his own. You want your pointy stick so bad? _You_ get it.”

“It’s fine,” said Yami, “I have an extra axe if you’d like it. But we really should get a start.”

Seto huffed. He had Hermione’s wand. For now, it would be enough.

“…Alright, let’s get to the castle.”

* * *

Hermione slowly opened her eyes, and sat up from where she was awkwardly slumped on the floor wedged between the crystal ball and the Witch’s armchair. She didn’t remember falling asleep, but what was the strange light flash she had caught behind her eyelids?

She struggled to her feet, wincing as she pressed her hands into the chair to stand back up. Her fingertips were incredibly blistered from tugging on the magic collar. Oh, she couldn’t wait to see what her neck looked like. It certainly _hurt_ enough. Perhaps she didn’t fall asleep as much as she passed out from trying to use the crystal ball.

Yeah…that sounded more likely.

The same whiteish-blue flash appeared out of the corner of her eye, and she looked towards the window. Did it come from outside? Was it lightning?

She wandered over and gripped the bars. The sun was rising. If what the Witch said was true, the Wheelers would be arriving soon to take her to the Nome Kingdom. Even with her very limited magical ability, she didn’t stand much of a chance if the Witch’s winged monsters were going to drag her out of the castle.

And then what would be of Seto? She managed to see Yuugi and Yami with him, just outside the flower field. The Witch would no doubt have a trap for them if they tried to storm the castle.

Hermione bit her lip. Although…perhaps not. The Witch didn’t seem to deem Seto a threat anymore, that’s why she left him behind. And clearly, she believed so well in these magic-suppressing devices that she didn’t deem her one either.

And that meant she had to use this to her advantage in any way she could, once they brought her out of this room.

She sighed and looked out at the sky. It was clear.

So the flash wasn’t lightning…but what was it?

The light flared again, but it didn’t come from outside. Hermione turned to her left and gasped.

There was a figure in the mirror. A blue wispy image. It didn’t seem to have the true shape of a person, but the wisp floated in the mirror, behind her own reflection.

Hermione twisted around to look behind her. No such wisp was there.

She tilted her head and stepped closer to the broke mirror. Didn’t Seto mention that _he_ saw something in the mirror back in Anzu’s inn?

The wisp changed form slightly, into an almost ghostly outline, but she couldn’t make out who it was. It pressed what might have been a hand against the broken glass.

Hermione looked down at her own hand, and then reached up and pressed against the same part of the mirror.

“Who are you?” she whispered. “… _What_ are you?”

If the wisp could talk, it didn’t say anything. With one hand pressed opposite Hermione’s against the glass, it used its other to point behind her, towards the crystal ball.

She didn’t let go of the mirror, but twisted around, eyes wide. The crystal ball had activated, and the swirling mist was changing again and formed a scene she hadn’t seen before.

A corridor in the castle. Guards marching through, but the four at the end seemed to hang back from the others. One of them had a lion’s tail poking out from under its coat.

_Yuugi?!_

Hermione turned back to the mirror. “Yuugi? He’s here? With the others, and…Seto?”

The wisp didn’t nod…but it didn’t shake its head either.

“Can they find me? Are you able to help?”

She flinched and held up her free hand to her face. The first rays of sunlight were starting to stream in through the window. “ _Please.”_

The wisp disappeared.

Hermione’s shoulders slumped and she let go of the mirror. There was no way of telling if whatever she saw would be able to help her. Was it a ghost? A former victim of the Witch? Some other sort of magical being?

What if it was an apparition of the Witch to spy on her?

She crossed the room again and tugged on the window bars again for good measure. Time was about up.

 _Or…maybe not_? She let the hand that had pressed against the mirror go from the bar and stared blankly at it.

Before she stared at the wisp in the mirror…her fingers were covered in blisters.

But now? Her hand was completely healed.

* * *

“Okay…now where do we go?” Jou adjusted the tall hat on his head. It was way too large for him, covering both his head and his own scarecrow hat, and it _still_ fell down over his eyes.

“She could be anywhere in here,” said Yami. “You didn’t happen to _see_ her while you were scouting around, right?”

“Nah,” said Jou, “I got us into this place, you guys can plan the next step.”

Seto rolled his eyes. Despite his feelings about Jonouchi, his plan allowed them to get inside rather easily. A quick distraction on Yuugi’s end and they overwhelmed the few guards standing along the drawbridge without too much trouble.

But the castle was nothing but hallways and staircases that reminded Seto vaguely of the prison Voldemort had kept him in during the last year. He was able to sense the Millennium Rod, and use that to find his way. And while that had led him into a trap the last time, the same could not be said of their predicament here.

There was no homing beacon leading right to Hermione. They would have to search the long way.

“If I had to guess…assuming she’s not dead or worse, she’s probably in a dungeon or a tower somewhere,” Yuugi mused. “Someplace out of the way. We could split up? It might be faster.”

“I don’t like that plan,” said Yami, “I’d rather us stick together.”

Seto leaned against the wall. They stood, huddled in an alcove, out of sight from anyone walking up and down the corridors. An ornate mirror stood on the wall opposite them, and he stared into it every few seconds, using it to judge where the guards were out in the hallway.

Both sticking together and splitting up had their pros and cons, and honestly, he didn’t care what they did so long as they were able to find Hermione. Aside from having her wand, only Yami was properly armed, so unless he split off with either Yuugi or Jonouchi, one pair would be defenseless.

They might cover more ground, but it _was_ probably better that they stayed as a group. He didn’t fancy the notion of having to scour the castle later because Jonouchi got himself lost. More likely, his clumsy nature would get them all captured, and they would first have to break themselves out of prison in order to get to Hermione.

There was no time for that.

“I say we start at the bottom and work our way up,” said Yuugi, “That way we can try to keep track of the places we’ve been to. Otherwise we might get ourselves lost in here.”

“We’re gonna get lost no matter what,” Jou muttered, “this place is ginormous.”

Yuugi frowned. “Well…how about – wait, what’s that?”

Seto looked down at Yuugi. He was staring out, a paw outstretched towards the mirror.

The same blueish wisp that he remembered seeing back in Anzu’s inn was floating in the glass.

“What’s _that_?” said Yami. He looked around them. “I don’t see that out here. Is that thing…only in the mirror?”

Seto stepped forward. “I’ve seen this before. I don’t know what it is…but it only seems to appear in mirrors.”

“That’s wacky,” said Jou. “What if it’s the Witch?”

“I saw it in the inn,” said Seto. He crossed his arms and stared at the wisp curiously. “I doubt we were on the Witch’s radar then, it was only the first night in town. But before I could get a good look at it, it disappeared.”

“Maybe it’s a ghost?” said Yuugi.

“Then wouldn’t we see it too? Like out here?” said Jou, “I mean, we see ghosts and all sorts o’ weird stuff down in the Scarletton Graveyard.”

“Oh…” Yuugi mused, “That’s true.”

“Maybe whatever this is _only_ travels by mirror,” said Yami. His eyes widened. “Maybe it knows where Hermione is?”

The wisp hovered near the front of the glass.

“Can you tell us where Hermione is?” asked Yuugi, his eyes wide and full of hope.

The wisp moved to the top of the glass before disappearing.

“I’m gonna take that as a sign we gotta go up,” said Jou. “There’s only…what…five different towers in this castle to explore?”

Yami carefully peered out from around the edge of the alcove. “The coast is clear. Let’s go.”

The first floor up was a long hallway, lined with suits of armor and brightly-lit torches against the walls. Jou nervously stayed in the very center of the hallway as they ran past, checking around any indentations in the walls for rooms or locked doors. But the hallway ended with a staircase along the right wall, and another mirror, identical to the one down in the alcove along the dead-end.

“Guess we go up?” said Yami.

Seto paused in front of the mirror, hoping that the wisp would appear again and give some sort of sign, but no such luck.

“I guess so,” said Yuugi. “Although…” He gave his body a hard shake, dislodging the goofy guard helmet he had been wearing the entire time, and the coat that was draped along his shoulders. “I don’t think I need that anymore.”

“You’re gonna get us caught,” Jou muttered.

Yuugi rolled his eyes. “It’s not like I can walk on my hind legs, Jou. I’m just surprised we all made it this far already.”

Seto shoved the discarded coat and hat behind one of the suits of armor. “That should keep it out of sight. We need to keep moving.”

Yami started climbing the steps and then paused in front of a small, barred window on the staircase wall. “Hm…the Witch has visitors.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Yuugi. He trotted up and raised himself up on his back legs to peer out the window.

A carriage was approaching from the road on the far side of the castle. It would cross the rear drawbridge in only minutes.

“How do we know that’s _not_ the Witch?” said Jou, “Maybe she’s not home?”

“The Witch travels by broom,” said Yami, “At least…she did back when I was stuck with her and her sister….”

“Worry about whoever that is later,” Seto snapped, and he passed them on the stairs, looking around the corner from the top step. The next hall was clear as well. The suits of armor from the previous level were gone, but an identical mirror to the alcove hung at the end of the corridor.

And the wisp appeared in the center of the glass.

“This is the right way!” Yuugi cried, and he bolted down the hallway. “We must be on the right track!”

The hallway split into two directions. Another corridor leading to the left, and another going into a spiral staircase to the right. Seto paused in front of the mirror and looked dead-center at the floating wisp. “Which way?”

The wisp floated to the right and vanished again.

Jou stopped at a window near the end of the hall and craned his head to look out and up. “Oof. Tower time.”

* * *

She could hear footsteps in the distance. Heavy ones, by the sound of it. Not quite what she would expect from the winged creatures, or the Witch. Were they the guards she had briefly seen in the crystal ball? Or were these the Wheelers coming to collect her?”

If they were the latter, this was going to be her last chance to try and escape. Seto and the others were somewhere in the castle, and she wasn’t going to let herself be dragged away without finding a way to alert them.

“Hello?” she called out, and pressed her ear against the door. But no one answered her.

Hermione fisted her uninjured hand and pounded on the door. “ _Hello_! _Is someone out there?”_

No one seemed to come closer or respond.

The door was heavy. Maybe no one heard her.

Sighing, she wandered back to the mirror and grimaced at her sight. If only her beaded bag was here. Somewhere in there was burn cream…assuming it worked in this land. And if it didn’t…at least this was a nightmare game. The odds her actual body took this much abuse was slim.

At least she hoped so.

She started to reach up and try to see how many burns were hiding under her collar, and decided against it. Somehow, the wisp healed one of her hands. But there was no guarantee that she would be so lucky again. Activating the harsh magic again was not going to be wise. Not when she would need as much strength as possible to try and get out once the Wheelers arrived.

Hermione was about to turn away and head back to the armchair when she could have sworn she heard her name, and darted back to the door.

More footsteps outside, and now they were coming closer.

“ _Hermione_?”

Her eyes widened. _That_ was Jonouchi!

“ _Hello_?” She knocked as hard as she could on the door again. “ _Jonouchi?_ ”

“ _Finally – hang on, I’ll get the others_!”

Hermione glanced quickly at the window. The sun was fully up now. “ _Please_ , hurry – she’s sending me to the Nome Kingdom once the Wheelers arrive!”

“ _Don’ worry – they’re a few steps behind, hang tight_!”

She heard his light steps hurry away before there was another flurry of movement on the other side of the door.

“ _Oi, she’s up here_!”

“ _Hermione,”_ she heard Yami say, “ _Stand back from the door_!”

“It’s locked,” she said.

“ _I know_ ,” said Yami, and she heard them try the handle a second time. “ _We’re going to break it down!”_

 _Bang_!

Hermione backed away from the door, wringing her hands together. Would Yami’s axe be enough to get through? Or would the noise do nothing but alert the Witch and all of her minions to the tower?

 _Bang_!

Yami swung the axe around again. “This is one tough door.”

Yuugi stood, perched at the top of the steps, keeping watch. “Well…it wouldn’t be right if it was _too_ easy,” he said, sighing.

Jou propped his elbows up on the open windowsill. There wasn’t a whole lot he could do. He tried to grab the spare axe and help, but nearly lost his balance and smacked Yuugi in the face instead, and now he was delegated to watching the skies for trouble, and Yuugi the stairs for the escape back down.

“Hang on,” said Seto, holding out a hand, “Give me the other axe.”

Yami nodded and reached for his holster. “Two sets of hands will make faster work.”

 _Bang_!

Yuugi turned back, watching them. The door had taken a great deal of abuse already, but at least now it was looking like they were making progress. And while he wouldn’t normally complain, it was rather concerning that none of the guards or winged monsters hadn’t paid them a visit with all the noise they were making.

_Bang!_

Jou crossed the hallway behind Yami, careful not to get in the way of the swinging axes, and looked out the other window. Still no company in the sky, but he could see the carriage stopped right outside the rear of the castle, facing the desert. From this height he couldn’t see anyone on the ground who may have been in it, but just its presence alone didn’t leave him with good feelings.

Whoever arrived in it was not a friend.

 _Bang_!

“That should do it,” said Seto as Yami finished his swing, breaking the last hinge on the door. A sharp kick to what was left of its mutilated body and it fell away.

He had barely righted himself when Hermione barreled right into him, and had her arms thrown around his neck.

“Someone’s happy to see you,” Jou snickered quietly, and ignored the glare Seto sent him.

Hermione tightened her grip on him. “I was so worried,” she cried, “For a while I thought you were dead!”

“I’m fine,” Seto said, and attempted to dislodge himself from her. “Are you alright?”

She nodded, wiping a tear from her eye. “More or less.”

Seto frowned, gently taking the hand she raised to her face and turned it over, palm up to examine all of the blisters. “What happened?” He then saw the metal around her neck. “What the hell is _that_?”

She shook her head, “I can’t get it off – the Witch – she put it on so I wouldn’t be able to cast spells, or it would…”

“We’ll get it off,” said Seto, “don’t worry.”

“Please, we have to go,” Hermione glanced at the window. “The Witch – she sent for the Wheelers…”

Yuugi paled.

Seto looked at him before moving around Hermione to try and get the collar off. “Who are Wheelers?”

Yuugi shook his head. “They’re not good…”

Seto moved her hair over her shoulder to examine the clasp, but she shuddered and squirmed away from him the moment he touched it.

“Don’t,” she moaned, “please, it hurts when you do that.”

Seto blinked. “I barely touched it.”

“I know…but it’s – it’s not made to come off…”

“We’ll figure it out,” said Seto, “For now, let’s get out of here.”

They hurried back down the tower steps and back into the upper corridor. Seto gave the mirror they passed a fleeting glance but the wispy figure didn’t appear.

Down the next flight of stairs, past the suits of armor, and then through the main hall, towards the large open castle doors.

“We’re almost there!” Jou cried, and he picked up his pace to try and catch up to Yuugi.

But just before either of them could pass through, the doors slammed shut on their own, and Yuugi had to skid to a stop before he crashed into it.

Jou _did_ crash into it with a loud ‘ _oof_!’.

“Well, well,” said a high-pitched giggle from behind them, and Hermione whirled around. The Witch, and a number of her guards and flying cat demons were exiting the staircase on the other side of the hall. “I see we have some uninvited guests…”

She stepped forward and eyed them curiously. “I see _someone_ wasn’t as dead as I thought,” she said, “No matter. The Nome King will be delighted to have a second slave join the mines.”

“We won’t be going to the Nome Kingdom,” said Yami defiantly, “You can’t win.”

“Win _what_?” Umbridge blinked. “I didn’t think I was playing a game. _I_ already hold all the power in Šwt. There is a reason that no one has been able to wrest the ruby slippers from me. They are right where they belong – _on my feet_.”

She turned to Hermione. “Perhaps you need further subduing before I send you off with the Wheelers. I can’t have you escaping mid-journey.”

The Witch raised her hand and a pair of guards came forward, weapons raised. “Look my dears,” she said, to her winged creatures, “New toys.”

Umbridge turned back to the group huddled against the front doors. “Return the Tin Man to my tower. I see we’ll have to remove his heart again.”

“ _No!”_ Yami roared, “I will not be a mindless servant again!”

“You won’t have a choice,” Umbridge snapped, “Unless you wish me to skin and roast your lion friend for my supper this evening.”

Yuugi raised the hairs on his back, teeth bared.

“And don’t think I haven’t noticed you, Straw Man,” the Witch cackled. “I could always use some amusement. Perhaps you can show us the famed _fire dance_ that’s known in Dhunkave.

Jou turned white as a sheet.

“And as for you two,” the Witch turned to Hermione, “I think…something _stronger_ is in order for you, dearie. And if you manage to work past _that_ too, perhaps you’re too dangerous to be left alive…”

Jou glanced up at the ceiling. A large torch chandelier was above the guards’ heads, and it was held aloft by ropes hooked into the wall just above them.

Yami could reach it with his axe with ease.

He nudged Yami with his elbow and nodded his head slightly towards the wall. Yami followed his gaze to the hook, then up at the chandelier and nodded.

“…You’ll be going back into the tower until I figure out just what to do with you,” said Umbridge, gripping Hermione roughly by the chin. “But don’t worry, your friend can keep you company until I decide if _I_ want to keep him or not. It _does_ get lonely at times with no visitors for company.”

“Not a chance!” Jou shouted. He and Yami both swung the axe into the tether on the wall.

For an instant, everyone could only just stare up as the chandelier seemed to float for a moment before falling down. The Witch dove out of the way as it fell on the front row of guards.

“ _Quick,_ run!” Jou grabbed Hermione by the hand and tugged her towards a hallway to the right of them.

“Where are we going!?” Yuugi asked as they ran. He dared a look behind him. The guards heavy footsteps thundered behind them as they gave chase, and two winged creatures flew along above them.

“ _Anywhere_!” said Jou.

Seto whirled around and waved Hermione’s wand in a wide arc, sending a blast of fire behind them. It caught one of the creatures in the chest and it dropped with a terrible cry. The other swooped to drop next to its fallen friend.

The flames also created a wall blocking the guards running after them, allowing them a few extra seconds of distance from the Witch’s henchmen.

“Here.” Yami stopped short at a large window. “I think we’re on the ground floor. If we can get out of the castle, there’s probably a better chance of escaping.”

He started to give Jou a leg up when a winged creature suddenly appeared in the window, grabbed hold of Yami, and started hoisting him into the air.

“ _Ah!_!”

“Yami!” Yuugi cried.

Seto grabbed a spear off the nearest suit of armor and drew his arm back. “ _Drop,_ Wheeler.”

“I told ya, my name’s not – _yeesh!”_ Jou quickly ducked down as Seto let the spear fly. It didn’t hit the creature, but it made it falter long enough for them to drag Yami back to the ground, and they continued down the corridor and around the corner to an open courtyard sitting before a line of trees.

“Maybe we can hide in them woods,” said Jou. This had to be one of the sides of the castle. It didn’t face the flower field or the desert. If they didn’t head into the trees, the only other place to go would be towards the moats on the front or rear sides of the castle.

Yami wouldn’t make it through though, he’d rust instantly.

But before they could make it down the steps to the grass below, Jou seemed to run face-first into an invisible wall.

Yuugi put a paw out to the side and caught another barrier. “She blocked us with her magic!”

Yami found both the third and fourth walls, effectively cornering them. They couldn’t move at all. “ _Great_.”

The guards and winged cats, it seemed, were unaffected by the magic. Guards passed through, grabbed hold of Seto and Hermione and roughly dragged them out and back into the castle.

The wand was plucked from Seto’s hand, and winged cat demons grabbed Yami’s axes before he could get a swing out.

Back through the hallway they had come through, and then down a side corridor, and down two flights of steps into a dark cellar, devoid of anything except a mop and bucket of water in the corner.

The Witch was waiting for them, the ruby slippers glimmering against the few torches lining the walls.

“I will admit, you are a much livelier bunch than I had expected,” she said, “A bit _too much trouble_ for my taste.” 

She patted Hermione’s cheek as she struggled against the guards holding her back. “It’s time to say goodbye to your friends, dearie. But don’t worry, I’ll save your friend here for last.”

Hermione shrank back and away from her.

“But which one gets to go first…” the Witch mused, stepping back and looked across at the group before her. “Scarecrow.”

The winged cats holding him still threw him into the middle of the room, and he attempted to right his fall, landing in a roll at the Witch’s feet.

He sat up, and immediately scooted back along the floor towards the far wall once he saw her reach up with her broomstick to one of the nearby torches and set the end of it on fire.

“Let’s see you _dance_ , Scarecrow.”

She moved on him faster than he could try and scuttle away, and in seconds, his arm was ablaze.

Jou howled and jumped up and down, waving his arm frantically, trying to blow it out, but all it did was spread the flames further up his arm.

 _“Help! I’m burning_!”

He continued to cry and wave his arms around. He flailed a step too close to the guard holding Hermione, and he loosened his hold on her so his coat wouldn’t catch fire, giving her just enough room to free herself.

Hermione dove for the water bucket in the corner. The guard managed to catch her by the ankle and pulled her down to the floor, but not before she managed to grab the handle and fling the water right into the air, catching the fire working its way up Jonouchi’s arm, and the Witch, standing off to the side.

“ _NO!”_

The guard holding her instantly let go and Hermione could only stare, eyes wide.

Jou had stopped shouting, and his arm was slightly smoking.

But the _Witch_ had screamed as though she herself had been burned.

“ _You wretched girl_!” The Witch cried, and she stared down at her shaking hands. Her entire body was smoking. “ _Look what you’ve done_!”

Steam seemed to hiss off of her body as she felt herself sink to the floor, and her knees disappeared. “ _My beautiful wickedness…I’m…I’m…”_

Yuugi’s eyes were wide. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “… _melting?!”_

They all stayed, rooted to the spot as the Witch seemed to get closer to the ground. Her legs completely disappeared under her cloak as she continued to collapse into herself.

The steam rising from her clothes suddenly hissed even louder as the Witch let out an ear-splitting scream before her face disappeared under her hat. Her hands vanished under her clothes, until her pointed hat was resting on top the cold stone floor in a puddle of water.

The lead cat demon let out a strangled howl, and after a moment it too started smoking, and so did the others behind it, before they all disappeared from sight. Without anything holding them up, Yami’s axes clattered noisily to the floor.

Nobody moved or made a sound.

Hermione caught a glimpse of Seto’s uncharacteristically shocked face. So she wasn’t the _only_ one in completely stunned disbelief. What the _heck_ did they just witness!?

After a minute, one of the guards broke away from the group and prodded the mess of pink robes on the ground with a spear.

“She’s dead,” he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. He poked the steaming robes a few more times for good measure and then returned his bewildered gaze back to the prisoners. “She’s gone,” he said, louder this time. “…You killed her.”

“ _Please_ ,” Hermione pleaded, wide-eyed as Seto helped her to her feet and she clung to him. While incredibly unexpected, she couldn't say she was sorry that the Witch was dead. But her death didn't quite alleviate the danger they were still in, surrounded by the castle guards. Would they retaliate in an attempt to avenge her? “I didn’t know, _honest_. But Jou – he was on fire! I swear it was an accident!”

“The Wicked Witch is dead,” murmured another guard in the cellar.

“Right…” Yami said awkwardly. He shifted closer to the staircase leading out of the cellar. His axes were on the bottom step.

The first guard suddenly dropped down onto his knees in front of Hermione and she staggered back, nearly tripping on Seto’s feet.

“You saved us!” he said, “How can we repay you?”

 _What?!_ Hermione blinked. “I’m…I’m sorry?”

“The Wicked Witch has kept us here for many years to guard her fortress. We come from all corners of Šwt,” said one of the other guards, “And now…now we can _finally_ go home.”

A few of them dropped their spears onto the floor and bolted excitedly for the stairs, and Yami sprang back against the wall to let them pass. Jou blinked at Yuugi and shrugged. Yuugi shrugged back.

“So…I take it we can…just go,” said Yami, lamely. The last thing he expected were the soldiers to just... _run_. More of the Witch’s old guards filed out of the cellar, until there were only a few lingering behind.

“Yeah…” Jou muttered, plucking at a hole in his sleeve. “I dunno how we’re gonna explain _this_ to Anzu and the others back home…”

“We won’t get back until tomorrow,” said Yuugi, “I’m sure you’ll come up with a thrilling tale by then.”

A guard then returned to the cellar, with both Hermione’s wand and beaded bag in hand, and held it out to her. “We’re all free now,” he said. “Let all of Šwt know of the good deed done here today.”

Hermione hugged the bag to her chest and looked once more to the mess of pink robes on the floor.

“So…that’s it,” said Seto, his voice flat. He couldn't stop staring at the pink pointed witch hat resting on the floor. “Is that how all witches are dealt with around here?”

The guard shook his head. “I…don’t know. The only other one I’ve seen had a house dropped on her.”

“I…don’t think it matters,” Hermione said, “But we did it….” She looked up at Seto, her eyes bright. “We _won_.”

“Not – yet,” Seto let go of her and knelt down next to the smoking robes. He picked up a dropped spear and prodded the pink clothes apart until he found the ruby slippers. “We need to take these back to Scarletton City.”

Hermione nodded. “Right…the Enchantress needs them.” She looked to the guard. “We… _can_ take them…right?”

“Might as well,” he shrugged. “No one here can make use of their powers. But I’d keep ‘em safe. Word will soon be out that the Witch is dead, which means that anyone who’s been vying for them will be after you.”

Yuugi shuffled over and watched as, after a minute of struggling, Hermione successfully crammed the shoes into her bag. “Weird,” he said, “I thought they’d be…I don’t know… _fancier_.”

“What, them sparkly rubies ain’t good enough?” Jou snickered.

Yuugi shrugged.

* * *

“It was super convenient that the magic the Witch cast had gone away once she…melted,” said Yuugi. Even now, hours after leaving the castle, it still felt strange to use that term to describe her death.

Upon leaving the castle, they discovered that the magical flower field had disappeared completely, leaving a clean green meadow and a clear path along the sapphire road leading back towards the woods. Unlike the journey in, there would be no succumbing to a magical sleep hindering their progress back to town.

He could tell Jou and Yami were _over the moon_ about it too, knowing they wouldn’t have to go back and drag him, Seto, and Hermione across the field to safety.

The walk back to Scarletton City started off slow. He hadn’t had much sleep the night before, enchanted flowers not counted, and the stress of the castle rescue had taken a little bit out of everyone. Even Yami seemed a bit sluggish chopping firewood for the small camp they had made.

His ears picked up a muffled cry from within the tent and he looked sadly at the closed entrance.

Yami grimaced. “Not all of it, apparently.”

“Hey, Yuug’!” Jou called from a short distance away, still in sight of the camp, but a fair distance from the fire. “Anzu give us a sewing kit?”

Yami frowned and reached into Anzu’s provisions bag, peering into it for the first time. Considering that he and Jou hadn’t a need to eat, she sure packed a great deal of food. A bundle of what looked like Shizuka’s first aid supplies, and an extra oil can were buried near the bottom, but no sewing kit.

“Dang,” Jou muttered. “Was hoping to repair my tunic before I lose any more o’ my arm.”

“I think so long as you don’t keep flailing it around you should be alright, Jou,” said Yuugi, “And since we don’t have to worry about the Witch or her demon creatures anymore…I don’t think we’ll run into much trouble.”

“Bandits,” Jou said.

“Not this close to the castle,” said Yami, “They’ve always steered away from this section of the forest.”

“Hmph,” said Jou, just in time to hear another cry, this one much louder, from the tent. “Oi, you okay in there?”

Seto then emerged from the tent with the Witch’s magic-stealing collar gripped tightly in his hand.

Yuugi took one look at it and visibly winced at the blood stained all through the inside. “…Oh no…is she okay?”

“She will be,” said Seto stiffly, glaring down at the metal in his hands. Her injuries reminded him of the ones he received when he first bonded with the Millennium Rod, only his burns were on a much smaller scale in comparison. It was a wonder the collar didn’t get completely stuck to her skin.

Small victories.

“I have something that might help,” Yami offered him the first aid bundle. “Shizuka is a healer in town. Maybe something in there will do some good for her.”

Seto dropped the collar into the fire, accepted the cloth bundle and disappeared back into the tent without another word.

“Someone’s talkative,” said Jou, rolling his eyes.

“It’s been a long day for all of us,” said Yami. “I’m sure we’ll all feel better in the morning.”

“Hope so,” Jou said. He folded his arms behind his head and stared up at the starry sky. “Man I can’t wait for a new stitch job…”

“…Let me see your palm,” said Seto, holding his own out in front of him. It had only taken a minute or two to cut strips out of the bandage roll and wrap the mess the collar made of Hermione’s neck, and then to cover the blisters on her hand, which thankfully were not as extreme. “…What did she want?”

Hermione pulled her hand back and drew her knees up. “She was going to send me to the Nome Kingdom, to be slave labor in the mines. It’s where the other magically-capable heroes she captured went. She said the collars would suppress my magic.”

She sighed. “But that’s…not _quite_ how it worked. Magic works, but at a cost.”

He shifted around in the tent to sit next to her. “You shouldn’t have been so reckless,” he said. “You could have ended up with a lot worse.”

“That’s _rich_ , coming from you,” she said bitterly, “Considering _I_ had to tell you that the first time.” Hermione looked away from him. “But I had to…”

“We brought this up before,” said Seto, “We don’t know effect being in here is doing to ourselves out of the Shadow Realm. Whatever you were doing, it wasn’t worth the possibility of hurting yourself.”

“It was to me,” she muttered, and she rubbed at her arms, still staring at the wall of the tent. “I _had_ to…”

“Had to _what_?”

“I had to _know_ ,” she cried, and she finally turned to him. “She said….” Hermione shook her head, dismissing the Witch’s conversation from the front of her mind. “I had to be sure you weren’t dead.”

“…I was asleep.”

“Yes, in the Witch’s poisoned flowers! If Yuugi and the others hadn’t pulled you out you would have _died_ there!” She waved her hands out angrily, “I went through the whole night not knowing if you were even _alive_. I risked myself just to know you were alright, so if I did manage to get myself out I would be able to find you, and _help_.”

She shot him a harsh side-glare. “I would hardly call it recklessness.”

Hermione took a long, deep breath, and collected her thoughts. “That night, at the inn…you said we needed to play the game to survive in this place…”

“That was right after a chess game with a thug. It hardly compares.”

“It was bound to get more difficult, Seto,” Hermione said. She reached forward and tugged her beaded bag close, then reached into it and pulled out the ruby slippers. “But I don’t think we have much to worry about now. We’re not alone anymore, and we defeated the Wicked Witch. All we have to do is take these to the Enchantress and we’re done.”

“…Yeah…”

Hermione frowned at the tone of his voice. He was in agreement with her…but it didn’t sound convincing at all. She glanced over to see him staring at the shoes, brow furrowed.

“What’s wrong?”

Seto took one of the shoes and turned it over in his hands. “All this work…over a pair of _shoes_.”

“They’re magic shoes.”

“I got that much,” Seto said. “But these are supposed to be the most powerful objects in this world. You don’t feel we got them a bit _too_ easily?” He handed the shoe back to her. “The most feared woman in the land, taken out by a bucket of water. No magic involved. No real fight.”

Hermione looked down at the bag. “…You think there’s more?”

“I’m just pointing out that for having these feared ruby slippers…she didn’t _use_ them. If we were that big of a threat to her, she could have killed us with ease.”

“Right…. There could be more….”

“But…” Seto settled back onto the floor of the tent. “We won’t know until tomorrow when we get back to town.”

Hermione slid down next to him. “What do you think we would still have to do?”

Seto stared up at the tent ceiling, pensive. “Gozaburo sent us to retrieve the shoes. But the Enchantress has been missing. If I had to guess…getting the shoes was a test of ability. The true task is finding _her_ too.”

Hermione nodded and shifted closer under their blanket. “You said she wasn’t part of Mokuba’s original game, right? I wonder if she’ll be able to get us out of here.”

“With how everyone here seems to sing her praises, I’d like to hope so,” said Seto. “Either that or this woman is just another Umbridge, and everyone here is setting us up for one last trap.”

* * *

It wasn’t long past midday when they passed through the Scarletton City gates. Jou skipped off excitedly towards Anzu’s inn, and with quick farewells to Yuugi, Jou, and Yami, Seto and Hermione continued through the center of town towards City Hall.

Hermione was halfway up the walk to the white mansion before she stopped and looked back.

Just like the first time, Seto had paused and was glaring up at the building. He wasn’t having doubts again because the mayor looked like his stepfather, was he? She thought she had gotten through to him on this.

“Are you still having second thoughts?”

Seto’s jaw twitched. “I just have a gut feeling, that we’re not as close to getting out as we think.”

“It’s not because the mayor looks like –”

“Sort of, actually.”

Hermione’s shoulders slumped. “We talked about this, remember?”

“I know we did,” said Seto, “But think of all of the faces we’ve come across. People that we were able to trust – Yuugi, Yami, Jonouchi – they’re all ‘good’ people in the real world. Some of these side characters, like Anzu or Yuugi’s grandfather – their friends. But the Witch? _Dolores Umbridge_. The Shadow Magus _purposely_ chose these people to take these roles. It can’t be a coincidence that Gozaburo is in a position of power.”

“And what if it is?” said Hermione. “The Shadow Magus has been through your mind before. It makes sense for him to pick people you don’t like to fit antagonistic roles. Like that Kemo person. But that does not make one a villain just because you don’t like them. If that was the case, Jou would likely have murdered us in the tent last night.”

Seto scowled. “It is just… _odd_ that we don’t return these shoes to the Palace where they belong.”

Hermione shrugged. “It isn’t as if the Mayor can do anything with them. He can’t use them.”

“So he says.”

“But the Enchantress isn’t even in, remember? What’s the point of taking them to the Palace if there’s no one there to meet us?”

Seto gave a fleeting glance down the road to the crystal palace. “We only know there’s no one there because that’s what everyone’s told us up to this point.”

“But Kemo won’t let us into the Palace, so we’re going to have to go through the Mayor’s office,” said Hermione, “Whatever is going to happen next, whether it be good or bad, is going to happen there.”

She moved back to him and squeezed his hand gently. “It’ll be fine. No matter what happens, we’ll tackle the next bit together. And if there is no next part, then we’ll wake back up in the real world, and we can take down the Shadow Magus.”

“Yeah,” Seto muttered, “And if we’re lucky, while we’ve been stuck in here, Yugi wouldn’t have gone and done something stupid like hand over the last sword piece.”

They set off for the main doors of City Hall and down the corridor to Gozaburo’s office. Unlike before, the door was wide open this time, and Mayor Gozaburo looked up once they stopped in the open doorframe.

He blinked, and stole a quick fleeting glance at the lone stone wall in the room before focusing back on Seto and Hermione. “Y-you’re back….”

Seto scowled and crossed his arms across his chest. “You sound surprised.”

“You’re the first people sent off to the Witch that have come back.” The Mayor said as he took a long drag on his cigar. “I trust you were successful and didn’t just turn tail.”

“The Witch is gone,” said Hermione.

“Excellent,” said the Mayor, though his voice was hardly as ecstatic as Hermione would have expected it to be, considering the danger the Witch had posed to the town. “And you have the ruby slippers?”

“…Yes,” said Hermione, “We need to give them to the Enchantress.”

“She’s not here.”

“Still?”

“Still,” said Gozaburo, and he pointed to his desk. “Set them there, and I’ll keep them for when she gets back.”

Hermione clutched her bag tightly. “Why do you need them so badly? You can’t use them. They’re just as safe with us as they are anywhere else. The danger has passed.”

“For safekeeping of course,” said the Mayor, “Can’t have them fall into the wrong hands.”

“Like yours?” said Seto.

The Mayor narrowed his eyes at him. “What are you implying, boy?”

“The Witch said that the shoes belonged to her,” said Hermione, “That they weren’t created by someone smuggling the ruby through the land, but that she forged them herself.”

The Mayor leaned back in his seat, cigar in hand, eying her curiously. “You’re really going to believe the Witch? After she tortured you?”

Hermione’s hand had made it halfway to her neck before she caught herself. “I can’t trust that they really belong to you or the Enchantress either.”

“It doesn’t much matter, _I_ can’t use them,” said the Mayor. “Whether the damn things were better off with the Witch of the West, whether she truly forged them or not, is irrelevant. The _facts_ are that she used them to terrorize the land, and the world is better off now without her.

“The shoes are a symbol of peace and hope for Šwt knowing that they’re kept in the Palace with the Enchantress.”

The Mayor’s lip curled upwards. “And that’s my _next_ task…”

Seto internally groaned. _Of course_ there would be two parts to this tale….

“…I am going to need you two to bring the Enchantress back. And to do that…I need the shoes.”

Hermione was instantly suspicious. “Why?”

The Mayor gestured to the large map taking up the side desk in the office. “She’s worn them before. That map is magical. Placing something down that belongs to the person you seek indicates their last known location.”

Hermione exchanged a hesitant look with Seto. “There is nothing else you can use?”

“Nothing with magic,” said the Mayor, “She’s not much of a materialistic person.”

Hermione looked down at her bag. “You have a deal then.”

Seto’s jaw nearly dropped. “You can’t be serious!”

“I have a feeling we’re going to need the Enchantress to get us home,” said Hermione, “The locater spell will make it easier for us to find her.”

She turned her gaze on the Mayor. “But _we’re_ going to hold onto the shoes until we find her. I won’t hand them off to anyone _except_ her.”

“Very well,” Gozaburo grumbled, getting to his feet. He crossed the room to stand before the map table and pointed down at where Scarletton City was indicated. “Set them there.”

Hermione nodded and reached into her beaded bag for the shoes. The instant they were out and set upon the table, a bright golden light shrouded the table before fading out.

She studied the table, her brow furrowed. “I…I can’t see anything new.” She turned to Seto. “Did you catch anything?”

Seto was staring at the map, not moving. Not even blinking. 

“Seto?”

He didn’t even acknowledge that he even heard her.

Frowning, Hermione reached up and waved a hand in front of his face, and he didn’t even react. It was almost as if he was frozen to the spot.

But how?

Even the Mayor had stopped moving.

 _What is going on here,_ Hermione thought.

**_Well, well…._ **

Now _that_ was a familiar voice, but it wasn’t one she wanted to hear. She whirled around and gasped. The Shadow Magus was about two steps away, towering over her.

 _“You!_ ” Hermione snapped, taking a step forward, placing herself somewhat between the Shadow Magus and Seto. “What have you done?”

**_It would appear that I underestimated your ability to progress through this little penalty game._ **

“You were the one who gave us a way to win,” said Hermione, “And we did it.”

 ** _Have you_** **,** he chuckled. **_I don’t think so. True, you may have defeated your enemy on pure luck, but_ my _fun is only just beginning. I think it is time to adjust the difficulty in this game to be a bit more of proper challenge, don’t you agree?_**

He glided forward a step, hands raised as the purplish Shadow Realm aura radiated off of them. To Hermione’s surprise – and horror – the Mayor’s office started to swirl around her, like the visions created in the Wicked Witch’s crystal ball.

Hermione reached for Seto as the room spun wildly, and she shut her eyes to keep herself from getting dizzy as the Shadow Magus’s dark laugh echoed in her ears.

 **_Consider what you have just done the warmup. Now, the_ ** **real _fun begins…_**


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /Text/ Spirit to Host  
>  **/Text/** Host to Spirit

Chapter 7

_Egypt_

“What is this place?” asked Ron as the shadows around them dissipated, leaving them in the middle of what looked like another tomb.

Yami Bakura stepped into the middle of the chamber, purposely moving to stand in front of the Millennium Stone and nodded to where Seto and Hermione were sprawled on the floor. “The Shadow Magus’s dumping ground, apparently.”

“ _Hermione_!” Ron and Harry both dove to the floor. Ron reached her first and carefully cradled her in his lap. “Wake up, c’mon…”

“It’s no use,” said Yami Bakura. “They’re in the Shadow Realm.”

“But that’s where we were just now,” said Harry, “You can obviously transport _us_ in and out. Why can’t you get them out?”

“I can _move_ them, sure. But the rules of penalty games are absolute,” said Yami Bakura, “You heard him when he found us. No outside interference. You want her to wake up? She has to get herself out.”

“We can worry about the logistics of a penalty game later, and anywhere else but here,” said Harry. “I don’t want to be caught when the Shadow Magus realizes we found them because we'll be no good to them if we get trapped too. There has to be someplace we can go and wait for Yugi.”

“With the Pharaoh playing hero again, I bet you’ll be waiting a while,” Yami Bakura muttered, “If he’s smart, he won’t give up the stupid sword piece and will stick to the plan.” He scowled. Acting as shuttle service for everyone to get from the original tomb to here, and then to the Ishtar’s home where they were setting up camp, and _then_ back to the tomb to fetch the Pharaoh was not really how he planned to spend his day.

They had found both Seto and Hermione’s wands inside the original chamber housing the sword fragment, and the Shadow Magus appeared once they had collected them and gotten through the last of the tomb’s labyrinth to return outside.

The offer was simple. The sword piece…but only for _one_ of their friends, and that wasn’t even with a guarantee that they were alright. The Shadow Magus didn’t seem keen on telling which of his two prisoners he would give up, but knowing his continued interest in Priest Seto and the Millennium Rod, they all assumed he would toss Hermione back and keep Seto for himself.

The Shadow Magus had given them an hour to decide, and in that time it was Yugi that thought up the current plan. Use the Millennium Ring to locate the Rod (and hopefully by extension Seto and Hermione), and then get _both_ of them to safety while he distracted the Shadow Magus long enough for Bakura to come back for him. Then they could get away with their friends and not give up anything.

Bakura glanced behind him to the Millennium Rod sitting idly still in the Millennium Stone. He _could_ leave it behind for the Shadow Magus. …Or he could do his good deed for the year and take it with them. He _was_ supposed to be on their side, after all. Despite his need to have all of the Millennium Items back in the stone for Zorc to rise once again, it would look a bit too suspicious for him to just leave it out of carelessness.

And…taking it with him, and also rescuing Kaiba for the umpteenth time since this whole wizarding crisis began would just make Kaiba owe him a favor. And he could think of a number of ways where that could come in handy down the road.

He reached down and plucked up the Millennium Rod and crossed the room, coming to a crouch beside Harry and Ron. “Alright, we’re leaving.”

* * *

“I can’t believe you challenged him to a duel,” Bakura muttered as he guided Yugi out of the Shadow Realm. “You _really_ think all of the problems in this world can be solved with a game of _Duel Monsters_?”

Yugi turned red and crossed his arms. “Well, _no_ , but…everyone _else_ that has come after me has wanted one, _you included!_ …How was _I_ supposed to know he wasn’t going to fall for it!?”

He sighed, following Bakura into Ishizu’s home. “How do you do that, anyway?”

“Do what?”

“Travel through the Shadow Realm like that,” said Yugi, “As far as I know, only you can do it. The only other person I’ve seen teleport around is Shadi.”

“He does whatever he wants,” Bakura mumbled, barely loud enough for Yugi to hear. “The perks of being dead.”

“That really didn’t answer my question, Bakura.”

Bakura rolled his eyes and practically tossed the Millennium Rod into Yugi’s arms. “An ability of the Ring,” he said stiffly.

A door opened off the hall at the end of the living room and Ishizu emerged, Harry on her heels.

“You made it!” Harry said. “Thank goodness!” He paused, trying to judge Yugi’s face. Did he end up handing over the sword piece? Yugi didn’t seem incredibly put out…so maybe they managed to all escape scot-free.

Well…mostly.

“Bakura got me out just in time,” said Yugi. “For now…we still have the sword piece. But you and I both know he’ll come for it. It’s just a matter of when.”

Harry nodded. “We’ll be ready. He won’t get the drop on us the next time.”

“Were you able to find Hermione and Kaiba?” Yugi asked, mentally crossing his fingers. He had to take them all being back here as a good sign. Otherwise narrowly escaping the Shadow Magus was for nothing. “Are they okay?”

“They’re here,” said Ishizu, “But still unconscious. Whatever Shadow Game that the dark spirit mentioned must still be in play.”

Harry nodded towards the door he had just left. “Hermione’s in there. Seto’s in Odion’s room across the way. They’re…just sleeping, it’s so strange….”

Ishizu shook her head. “Physically, perhaps. But who knows the nightmares they could be facing under the surface?”

Yugi started to follow Harry to the back of the house. “I guess Ron’s sitting in with Hermione, huh?”

“Yeah,” said Harry. “He’s been there since we got here.” He paused outside Ishizu’s room and pointed to the opposite open door. “Seto’s there.”

Yugi nodded and walked in, perching himself awkwardly along the edge of Odion’s narrow bed. Seto lay unmoving, his face pale. It reminded him eerily of how Joey looked after his duel against Marik’s darker half, only here Kaiba wasn’t connected to a plethora of medical machinery trying to keep him alive.

Joey hadn’t been on the losing end of a Penalty Game. His mind wasn’t lost to the Shadows. Marik had ripped the strength right out of him.

/I suppose this makes it more like Mai’s predicament, rather than Joey’s…/ Yami said quietly.

**/Yeah…I just wish there was a way for us to help him, _and_ Hermione. Like that one time you and the Spirit of the Ring entered Kaiba’s mind at Hogwarts _._ /**

/Different circumstances, Yugi. _That_ was no Shadow Game…/

Yugi tilted his head curiously, got up, and stepped closer. A thin red cut ran down the side of Seto’s face.

“He’s hurt…” he murmured.

/Just a scratch, by the looks of it. It could have happened when the Death Eaters were chasing us./

_“BLOODY HELL! HARRY!!!”_

Yugi jumped up at Ron’s sudden scream, and he bolted for the door. “What’s going on?”

Hermione was just as pale and unresponsive as Seto. But unlike Seto, who appeared to be in the middle of a very deep sleep, Hermione’s face twitched and scrunched up, as if she was in pain.

Ron stood over her, shaking her shoulder. “Hermione, c’mon, wake up!”

“She can’t hear you,” Ryou said softly, standing next to Yugi in the doorway. “Her mind…it’s not here…”

“But _look_!” Ron pointed with his free hand as he shook her shoulder again, his voice frantic. “ _Hermione!”_

Harry squeezed between Yugi and Ryou and gasped. “What happened to her neck?!”

Yugi cringed. Hermione’s face laxed, but only for about a minute. And each time she seemed to unconsciously wince, her neck became redder and redder.

Ryou reached for her and then drew his hand back. “It’s… _hot_.”

Yami phased out of the Puzzle. “ _Those are starting to look like blisters….”_

Harry lifted one of her hands. “Here too…”

“That…that _thing_ is hurting her!” Ron’s eyes were desperate as he turned to Ryou. “You know more about what’s going on than the rest of us… how do we stop it?”

Ryou bit his lip and shook his head. “I-I wish we could, but I don’t think we can. Not without knowing the terms of the original Shadow Game….”

Ron waved his hands wildly. “What – so we have to just sit here and let that demon do this to her?”

“We already know the terms of the Shadow Game,” said Harry bitterly, watching as Hermione’s face slackened once more into what appeared to be a peaceful slumber. “I just wish we were able to do something about it…”

* * *

Seto yanked on the chains binding him to the wall of the dim cavern. How he was standing in the Mayor’s office in Scarletton City one moment and then whisked away to some cave in the blink of an eye remained a mystery. The Witch was dead. They Mayor held no magical ability. …Or so he said.

So how did he even end up here?

He twisted around from where he woke, slumped against the cavern wall, and tested the links. They didn’t budge from the wall at all, leaving him thoroughly stuck. 

At least they weren’t giving off the Shadow Realm-esque hue that the ones back in the tomb had. Maybe that was a sign he could actually get out of these.

Seto scowled. He had a lot of questions, about how he came to be here, where here was, what was going on…but most importantly: _where was Hermione_? She had been right next to him, but now she was gone. Was she somewhere else in the cave? Or was she left behind in Scarletton City?

A low rumbling hit his ears off to the side of the cave, and he looked in the direction of the sound and his eyebrows raised, surprised, as what appeared to be a number of stone hands formed out of the rock walls of the chamber, creating a doorway of sorts.

Seto’s eyes narrowed dangerously as the Mayor of Scarletton City walked right through the newly-formed entrance, cigar in one hand, and the ruby slippers in the other.

“ _You_ ,” Seto snapped.

“Me,” said the Gozaburo lookalike. He stopped right in front of Seto, just out of reach of him in case he tried to swing out a leg and trip him, and stared down at his captive. “I hope you’re comfortable, boy. This is your new home.”

“And _where_ is here?” Seto said.

The Mayor smirked and continued past him, setting the shoes down against the opposite wall. He turned back as the wall rumbled again, and began to morph around the shoes until they were out of sight.

Gozaburo straightened back up, then turned to walk back out of the chamber and gave Seto one last fleeting look. “The end of the line.”

Before Seto could even bother to ask what that even meant, the Mayor was gone, the doorway closed back up, and he was once again alone. He tilted his head up and back against the wall behind him with a light thump.

So the Mayor was up to no good after all. Was anything he had ever said to them true? Was the Enchantress really in need of saving? Did she really need the ruby slippers after all? Shoot - did she even _exist?_ Or was this just a huge plot for the Mayor to get hold of the shoes on a secret power trip.

Seto pulled hard on the chains, but they still didn’t move. He and Hermione, like all of the other heroes that Gozaburo sent out to hunt for the shoes, fell for his story. But they at least made it out. But how many innocent people did the Witch hunt, or send to the Nome Kingdom to be slaves in the mines, forever searching for more magic stones?

He stared at the wall. How a rock face could just _absorb_ a pair of shoes was beyond him. He didn’t have a clue how to get them back out, but that was not the most pressing matter forming in his priority list.

He had to first get out of here and find Hermione. She could help formulate a plan to get the shoes and then they can storm the Palace. For how much they were sent away from going inside, the place must have some true importance. And if Kemo or Gozaburo try to stop them again?

Well…it wouldn’t be the first time he’s beaten them. Shadow Game or not, he wouldn’t let them win.

The opposite wall suddenly rumbled again. The hands that formed the passage along the side wall didn’t return, but the center of the huge space started changing, until something that passed for a giant face formed out of the uneven rock.

**_Well, well…welcome to the Nome Kingdom, Seto Kaiba._ **

Seto blinked. The _wall_ just spoke to him. Though…after running around Šwt with a talking tin man, lion, and scarecrow over the last day, this really wasn’t that big of a stretch.

 ** _Your attempts to escape will not work,_ **said the rock face. **_You will not be leaving for a_ very _long time…._**

“Is that so,” said Seto flatly, wrenching his arms out again. This stint of playing captive all the time was growing stale _very quickly_. “Where is Hermione?”

**_Your friend is not here._ **

Seto glared at the rock. “We just spent the last two days on a rigged goose chase. How do I know she’s not in some other cave?”

Another round of rumbles echoed throughout the cavern and Seto watched the tiles on the floor started to shift, forming almost something like a mirror, only instead of seeing what was in its reflection, it showed a bright meadow, near the end of a dense line of trees. Hermione was in the grass and appeared to be sleeping.

**_As you can see, she is not here._ **

“So long as that isn’t a trick,” Seto muttered. “Where is she then?”

**_Not far from Scarletton City. As you can see she is unharmed._ **

Seto stared into the image. She seemed to be along the edge of a path, but nothing else looked familiar to him. The small bit that he could see didn’t appear to be along the same road that they took into the town the first time. Perhaps this was along a different route.

Seto looked back up at the rock face. It had the ability to perform magic. Made sense, considering it was able to morph itself to suit its whims. Was it using the ruby slippers it absorbed?

“What do you want from me?”

The rock’s booming laugh bounced across the walls. **You _are bait._**

Seto struggled against his chains again. “For Hermione? You could have whisked her here too and saved yourself a ton of trouble.”

**_But where would the fun be in that?_ **

The giant face smiled eerily. _**But d**_ ** _o not worry. She will be given all of the direction she needs to find you. I do not wish for you two to be parted forever._**

The rock then chuckled darkly as the image of Hermione vanished. **_I do love happy endings…_**

* * *

Hermione woke to the sun shining against her eyes and the distant chirping of birds. She sat up slowly and looked around, rubbing at her eyes, finding herself alongside a road just outside of some woods.

“Where am I?” she mumbled.

Somehow, she expected Seto to not be with her anymore. Once the Shadow Magus appeared in the Mayor’s office, she _knew_ they had made a mistake. And knowing his penchant for kidnapping Seto at almost every opportunity, she figured he would be gone when the Mayor’s office stopped spinning away.

Hermione’s eyes darted to the ground and she spun around at the spot where she woke. The wand given to her by the town weaponsmith _and_ her beaded bag were both gone. And she definitely had them when going into City Hall.

So the Shadow Magus made off with Seto _and_ all of her supplies. _Great_.

She brushed stray bits of grass from her clothes and took another look around. The path going into the trees was a windy road that had long since fallen into despair. The cobblestones were torn apart and uneven, a dull slate-grey.

 _Wait a minute_ …

Hermione knelt down next to the road and picked up one of the broken pieces. She turned it over in her hands, examining it for a long minute before looking back around.

Her eyes caught a tree several feet away. Parts of the bark around her eye level had been chipped away into a familiar pattern.

She gasped and hurried over.

_This is the tree that Seto marked…on the way to the Witch’s castle!_

Which meant that heading away from it…should take her back to Scarletton City.

Hermione glanced back down at the bit of road in her hand and then gasped, dropping it to the ground.

That _was_ the sapphire road, but it had somehow lost its sparkling luster. All of the sapphires were gone, leaving nothing but a path of broken rock.

 _Who could have done this? And..._ how!?

She turned back towards the path. The Shadow Magus stood right next to her, the Eye on the mask glowing brightly.

Hermione shrieked and backed away from him, reaching for the dropped bit of cobblestone. It wouldn’t do much, but it was the only weapon she had within reach.

_Where did he come from!?_

“You!” she said angrily, “What have you done? Where’s Seto?”

 ** _You have done remarkably up to this point_ , **said the Shadow Magus, **_you retrieved the ruby slippers faster than I expected. Now we enter the final stages of your little penalty game._**

Hermione drew her arm back. The rock wouldn’t be very effective against a sorcerer, but if she smashed the Shadow Magus’s mask a second, even in this fake world, she’d be happy. “Answer my question. _Where is Seto_?”

**_In time out._ **

She paused. “What?”

**_Bringing the ruby slippers back to Scarletton City was only part of your objective. Taking them to the Mayor, however, was wrong. And for that you have been punished. Seto Kaiba has been sent far from here. Find him if you wish, but the rules of your Penalty Game still stand. You must win to escape._ **

“I’ll find him,” she said defiantly, “I won’t leave him here.”

 ** _How very admirable of you._** The Shadow Magus began circling around her. **_But will you have_ time _to do both?_**

Hermione’s brow furrowed. What was he talking about? They haven’t been timed on anything thus far, except maybe her escape from the Witch’s castle.

At her lost expression, the Shadow Magus laughed. **_I told you, your run has been too easy. You have until sunset tomorrow._**

“To find him?”

 ** _To_ win _. But do not worry, I’ll even give you a hint._** The Shadow Magus pointed back towards where Hermione had looked to go, away from the marked tree. **_I have shortened the length of time to travel back to town. Walking the pace you did before should take no more than an hour, rather than a half-days journey. There are no nefarious thieves hiding in the trees. You may travel in peace. There is someone in town who will have answers._**

Hermione eyed him suspiciously. “Why are you being helpful?”

**_I am being generous. But you’d better hurry. If you don’t complete the quest I gave you at the start of your Penalty Game,_ both _of you will perish in this world._**

With that, he vanished from sight, leaving nothing but his raspy chuckle in the air.

Hermione clutched the rock tightly in her hand and hurried alongside the path, sticking to the grass alongside the broken road. She couldn’t risk tripping over an upturned stone, getting hurt, and losing time.

If what the Shadow Magus said was true, and judging by the sun's position in the sky, she had just about a full day to find Seto and beat the game. Assuming that still meant to rescue the Enchantress from wherever she was…how could she possibly do that when the ruby slippers were gone? No doubt they still wouldn’t be in the Mayor’s office when she returned to the city.

She sighed and eased into a jog. _Have to cross that bridge when I get there…_

There was literally no way for her to tell time running through the woods, but it appeared the Shadow Magus _was_ being truthful about shortening her trip. The city gates appeared off in the distance a lot sooner than she expected.

Hermione continued onward. _I’ll have to be fast_ , she thought. _A quick stop at Anzu’s for supplies. Maybe I can recruit Yuugi, Yami, and Jonouchi again to help save Seto. And then I have to go back to the Mayor’s office…in case the shoes are still there._

It seemed doubtful, but if the Shadow Magus really only wanted Seto, he might have left everything _else_ intact.

However, the closer she got to Scarletton City, it was clear that more than just the road losing its sparkling blue appearance had changed, and she stopped short just beyond the western gate.

The streets in town were in shambles. The buildings didn’t have the pristine look from when she and Seto first arrived. It was almost as if a huge battle had taken place. Bricks were missing from some of the houses. One of the general store’s window shutters had broken off. A house down a side road had completely crumbled. The weaponsmith's shop was completely destroyed.

And where was everyone?

She hurried through the town, and passed by the main square, rushing down towards Anzu’s inn.

“Yuugi? Yami? Jonouchi?”

The door was partially blown off one of its hinges and she slowed to a stop, peering inside.

The three of them were gathered around one of the tables, playing some sort of card game.

“Yuugi?”

Hermione approached carefully. None of them seemed to hear her, and she then stopped short just scant inches from Yami’s seat.

They were all frozen in place, like Seto and the Mayor right before the Shadow Magus appeared.

She hesitated, and then reached forward and tapped at Jou’s shoulder. Yami didn’t look too different, but Jou and Yuugi looked like they had been turned to stone.

 _H-how_? The Wicked Witch was gone. They _all_ saw her melt back in her dungeon. Who could have done this?

Hermione looked around the inn. Anzu’s back was to the bar, and she appeared to be cleaning something in the sink behind the counter. She was frozen as well. Was everyone in the town this way?

She went back outside and continued back to the middle of the square, noticing now a few more of the city’s residents. Someone was walking out of the healer’s shop. A woman sat on a bench with a book, frozen while turning the page. All stuck as if someone paused time.

Hermione turned down the next street. A set of stairs led up away from the edge of the square, towards City Hall, and in red, a message was scrawled haphazardly against the courtyard wall.

_BEWARE…THE WHEELERS_

She froze. The Wheelers…the Witch had mentioned them. They were supposed to take her to the Nome Kingdom. What were they doing _here_?

Hermione weaved around a cluster of people frozen, standing in the middle of the road, probably in the midst of conversation, when she spotted a group of women that seemed to have been dancing, all holding hands in three wide circles.

Did word reach the town that the Wicked Witch was dead? Were they celebrating?

But when she looked closer, Hermione gasped and backed away into a light pole behind her.

_What the –_

Like everyone else in the town, the dancing girls were frozen in solid stone. But _unlike_ everyone else in town, all of their heads were missing.

Hermione winced and slowly made her way back down the road the way she initially came, choosing the long way up to the Mayor’s office. Up ahead she could see the Crystal Palace, and surprisingly it was still in perfect condition, a stark contrast to the destruction everywhere else. Only the dragon statues on either side of the front steps were damaged. But she didn't have time to dwell on why the Palace had been otherwise spared, and continued on the way to the Mayor's office.

Even City Hall had its share of destruction. Chunks of the exterior were missing, and the front windows had been blown out. A large crack ran through one of the column posts along the front of the building.

She hurried up the walk and through the main doors, and down the corridor to the Mayor’s office. What sort of scene awaited her there? She already knew Seto was gone – the Shadow Magus was at least clear about that.

But she remembered the Mayor had been frozen before the Shadow Magus warped her out of the town. Would he be solid stone as well?

The answer, interestingly enough, was no. He too was gone. Interesting.

And so were the ruby slippers.

Hermione’s shoulders slumped. Well, that was another thing she knew would need to be tracked down again. _Wonderful._

A loud earsplitting screech, so much worse than nails on a chalkboard, assaulted her ears, and she quickly left the office and back up the hallway.

It almost sounded like… _wheels_. Someone pushing a cart?

 _No_ , she told herself. It couldn’t be – everyone, even that Kemo person that Seto didn’t like, had been turned to stone. The town was deserted.

She heard the screech again and slipped back out of the building and down the path, feeling slightly crushed. The Shadow Magus said someone here knew where Seto was located. But how could anyone here be of help to her in their current state? The was no help, no leads, no supplies. The only thing left here was the Enchantress’s palace, but it _had_ to be deserted.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. …Or _was_ it? It was the only building undamaged, and she only knew that the Enchantress was gone because people told her so. What if she was really there the entire time?

It wasn’t like she had anything left to lose….

She was two steps up the staircase to the Palace doors when she heard the awful noise again, this time coming up behind her, and she slowly turned around, frozen to the spot at the sight before her.

It was a group of men…or at least, she thought they were men, hunched over on all fours. Their hands and feet had been replaced with giant wheels that were _desperately_ in need of some oil with how badly they sounded.

They all wore loud, freakishly-hideous masks overtop their heads, and were cackling wildly.

“Well now,” said the one in the lead. “Looks like someone got missed.”

He rolled over and did a loop around her. “Not a bad looker, either, wouldn’t you say?”

The second one zoomed up and stopped short, pivoting on a front wheel. “Oh yeah. What’re you doin’ here, girly?”

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Who are we,” laughed another one, “We’re the Wheelers. _Everyone_ in Šwt knows that.”

“Only people who don’t are strangers to this land,” said a fourth.

The second one lurched forward. “Say…we were supposed to pick someone up from the Witch’s castle…and wouldn’t you believe it, but no one was there…you wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

“Look at that there,” the first one, now behind her raised his front wheel up and poked at the back of her neck, against the bandages. “What happened to you, girly?”

Hermione jerked away from him and back up two steps, out of their reach.

“ _I_ think she’s the little mage we were supposed to take across the desert…” the second one mused.

The first Wheeler reached for her again, and before she could figure out how logically one without proper hands to grab things could try and stop her, she wound up her arm and sent the rock she had held onto all this time into the Wheeler’s face with enough force that he fell back on his hind legs, screaming.

The moment he was out of her reach, she took off back down the path. She heard the screeching of their wheels in the distance and knew they were coming up after her.

Hermione stopped short at the beginning of a narrow alley. The Wheelers must have split up, for she could hear their wheels both behind and somewhere up ahead. Just how many of them _were_ there!?

The only way to go to evade them was down the alley and hope it didn’t lead to…

…a dead end.

_Great._

The back of the alley was dark, the sun overhead blocked by the building next to her partially collapsing over onto the one across the way, and also by the Wheelers hovering at the only exit. She could hear them jeering at her as they slowly made their way in after her.

Hermione quickly turned back to the back wall of the alley, patting the bricks, trying to either lodge one loose to use as a weapon…or _anything._

“ _Got you, trapped_!” sneered a Wheeler.

“What’s wrong, girly? You don’t want to go for a ride?” said a different Wheeler.

Her fingers hit a small gap in the wall and she knelt down. Among all of the other red bricks was a brick different than all of the others. Something glittered off of it, but there wasn’t enough light to see what it was. But in the center of the brick was a small keyhole.

_The wall is a door!_

She pushed on the wall, but it didn’t move. And there was no way to pull it towards her, so that was out of the question.

Hermione stole a glance behind her. The Wheelers were still taunting her, moving at a snail’s pace up the alley, and were halfway through.

But one of them moved slightly out of the way, just enough for the sunlight to sneak in and catch a fragment of green coming off of the oddball brick.

A green brick? In the middle of all of the red in Scarletton City?

She suddenly gasped and reached into her pockets. _Oh!_

She quickly grabbed the emerald key, and nearly dropped it trying to fit it into the lock. _Please work…._

“…We were gonna take you to the Nome King, but that was _then_. You smashed my friend’s face, so instead, how ‘bout a trip into the Deadly Desert?”

“I don’t think so,” she muttered as the lock clicked. The heavy brick door opened inward and she rushed inside.

“Hey – _wait! GET BACK HERE!”_

The Wheelers suddenly surged forward down the alley, and she had just enough sense to grab the key out of the lock before slamming the door closed.

Hermione sagged against the door, out of breath. She seemed to have locked herself into a glorified storage room. By the look of the heavy dust and cobwebs coating everything, the items here had been forgotten for a _long_ time.

The Wheelers pounded on the other side of the door. “Come on out, girly!”

“Stay away from me!” She shouted through the door.

“Oh _come on_ , we just want to have a little fun!”

“You’re going to have to come out of there sometime! _No one_ gets away from the Wheelers!”

“I haven’t done anything to you!” said Hermione.

" _You broke my nose!"_

The lead Wheeler put his eye against the keyhole. “We enforce the will of the Nome King, and mages are outlawed _everywhere_ in Šwt! You either turn yourself in to him or to _us_!”

"And _we're_ a lot more fun," one of the other Wheelers taunted. "We'll at least give you a good time _before_ we tear you to pieces and throw you into the Deadly Desert...the Nome King won't be so... _forgiving_."

Hermione cringed. Well, she couldn’t surrender to the Nome King, and she _certainly_ wasn't going to let the Wheelers have her. On the flip side, she also couldn’t stay in this room. But who exactly was this Nome King that she’s heard mentioned around? Was he like the Witch, a force vying to control the land? Or was he the actual ruler of the realm?

“Who is the Nome King?”

The Wheelers were silent a minute.

“Who is the Nome King?” one of them repeated, as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard.

The others started laughing wildly.

“ _Hahahaha,”_ cackled the lead Wheeler, as he got up from kneeling next to the keyhole. “That’s a good one. _Who is the Nome King…”_

She heard the loud screeching of the wheels again, but they seemed to fade further into the distance.

_"Hee hee hee, 'Who is the Nome King', hahaha!"_

Kneeling down, she peered through the keyhole. They were leaving the alley.

Hermione sighed deeply. “That was… _too_ close.”

Pocketing the key again, she took another look around the room. Maybe one of these forgotten relics would make for a weapon, or at the very _least_ a clue to Seto’s whereabouts. Or maybe – if she found the Enchantress first, maybe she could use her magic to locate Seto.

Anything was worth a shot. But she couldn’t waste too much time. The sun would be setting in a few hours, and she only had until the end of the day tomorrow.

She began wandering through the storage room. A heavy iron cauldron sat in the corner. A pile of bricks that must have been extras from some sort of construction sat along the side wall. A bookshelf, coated in layers upon layers of dirt and grime, stood bare.

She sidestepped a stack of…she wasn’t quite sure what, and paused in front of a most peculiar sight. It was some sort of tin man, but not the same as Yami. Where Yami was more cylindrical and still held some of the physical qualities of his real-life counterpart, _this_ tin man was short and round, and almost looked like a soldier with its hard army helmet on top of its head.

It was also buried under more cobwebs and dust than she had ever seen – which really said something, after helping to clean out all of the dust-ridden rooms at Grimmauld Place three summers ago.

Hermione looked about the messy space around them, picked up some sort of rag that was once discarded, and began wiping down the tin man. It wasn’t until at least most of the dust was off of its front did she realize that it wasn’t made of tin, like Yami, but copper.

Its eyes were closed. Was it…asleep? Broken? Or perhaps, like all of the other citizens in the city – frozen in time?

She moved around to the back and kept clearing the cobwebs away to find a trio of wind-up keys and an inscription along the back of its head.

“ _The perfect talking mechanical man,”_ she read aloud, “ _Thinks, speaks, acts, and does everything but live. Guaranteed to work for thousands of years.”_

Each of the three keys had a label. SPEECH. ACTION. THOUGHT.

Hermione laid a hand over the thought key, and started winding it up until it would go no further, and she could hear a light ticking sound once she stopped. Next she moved on to the one for speech. It moved a bit easier than the last one, and as she gave the spring its last few turns, felt the strange metal man start to shift.

She quickly moved back to the front of it in time for the mechanical man to blink his eyes open.

“Hmph – what?” It said in a gruff robotic male voice, blinking and turning its head from side to side. “Oh, hello young lady.”

“Uh, hi,” said Hermione. “W-who are you?”

“I am Tik Tok,” said the mechanical man, “The Royal Army of Šwt.”

“You’re…an army?” said Hermione. She shifted around him to reach the action gear as Tik Tok’s head turned to keep eye contact with her. “There's only one of you.”

“There used to be others like me,” said Tik Tok, “But I am the last of my kind. I was placed here by the Enchantress during the war with the Wicked Witch of the East, in case of an extreme emergency. Tell me, what is your name?”

“Hermione,” she said, “Hermione Granger.” She finished winding his action key and moved back in front of him.

Tik Tok reached up and tipped his hat, and in that moment, Hermione saw a lightning-shaped crack across his forehead. “A pleasure to meet you Her-mione Granger.”

“Please, just Hermione will do.” She glanced towards the door. “Tell me…do you know anything that’s happened here? Why everyone has been turned to stone?”

“That is unsettling,” said Tik Tok, “Has the Wicked Witch been defeated?”

“Yes,” said Hermione, “The East and the West…”

“Then I do not,” said Tik Tok, “But I will investigate. Have you spoken to the Enchantress?”

She shook her head. “I think that’s the problem. She’s missing, and so are the ruby slippers.”

Tik Tok blinked owlishly at her with vivid green eyes. “Tell me, Her-mione, if everyone has turned to stone, how were you spared? It might be a clue.”

“I’m not from around here,” said Hermione, “Seto – my… _friend_ , was captured. I need to find him as well, but I think his disappearance is linked to the Enchantress somehow.”

“Then that is where we will start.” Tik Tok started towards the door.

“Wait!” Hermione cried. “There are Wheelers out there.”

Another blink. “Wheelers?”

“Yes…they’re out there, waiting for me. I evaded them in here, but…they want to throw me in the Deadly Desert…or send me to someone called the Nome King….”

“Hmm…do not worry, Her-mione. They appear frightening, but they are not bright. I will not let them harm you. From this moment forward, I will be your eternal servant, so long as you can keep me wound up.” With the way his short legs were positioned and spring-jointed under his circular torso, Tik Tok could only sort of waddle, and Hermione had to avoid biting her lip. Tik Tok couldn’t move very fast. If they needed to run, for any reason, he wouldn’t be able to keep up.

He clomped his way to the iron cauldron and closed his fingers around it. “I have formulated a plan. Stay behind me.”

She nodded, and after checking the keyhole to be sure none of the Wheelers were camping out in the alleyway again, opened the door and followed Tik Tok back out into the sunlight.

There was no sign of the Wheelers anywhere, but that didn’t mean they weren’t nearby. With how much they wanted her earlier, no doubt they were keeping an eye on the alley, waiting her out.

“Follow me to the square,” said Tik Tok, “We will take care of these bounty hunters at once.”

“…Alright…”

She couldn’t help but look behind her after every so many steps. The terrible sound of the Wheelers moving around could be heard off in the distance, but she stayed close to Tik Tok.

"How were you not turned to stone, Tik Tok?" asked Hermione, "Even Yami and Jonouchi over in Anzu's inn were frozen, and they're not human."

"Because I am a machine," said Tik Tok. "It would appear that this curse on the land only affects living beings."

Out of the alley, down what used to be one of the main streets in town, and past one of the groups of headless dancing girls.

They were almost back across the courtyard, near a bench with two citizens examining a watch when the noise got considerably louder.

Tik Tok stopped in front of the steps on the other end of the square and twisted back around to face the direction they had come. Wheelers were slowly rolling in from all directions.

“Well, look who’s back!” said the first Wheeler.

“Oh look, she’s got a friend with her,” a second one taunted. “Who wants to dismantle him for parts?”

“ _Oooh_ , I do!”

Tik Tok gripped the icon cauldron tightly and swiveled his head around to face Hermione. “You stay on the steps. They cannot climb them.”

Hermione nodded and moved upwards until she was well out of reach from any Wheeler that would be at the base of the stairs, or any that would appear from the road above.

“What’re you gonna do, Robot?” said a Wheeler. “You’re an ancient relic, outdated, _useless_. What do you think you can _really_ do, against _us?_ ”

Tik Tok blinked. “ _This_.” The cauldron held out, he started to quickly spin his torso without moving any other part of his body, and the heavy cauldron collided loudly with the Wheeler's face. He fell to the ground and didn’t move.

Tik Tok continued to rapidly rotate his body, and Hermione lost track of where the outstretched cauldron was ending up. The Wheelers, as Tik Tok had mentioned back in the storage room, were _definitely_ not very smart. Despite seeing how their first comrade got beaten down by a short rotund machine, they all zoomed closer, no doubt trying to avenge him.

All it did was get their faces clobbered in as well.

The first ones to recover hoisted themselves to their feet and shuffled back. A few others turned tail and bolted.

When the last one finally fell, Tik Tok grabbed him by his coat and dragged him over to the staircase.

“You’re gonna be sorry you messed with me,” the Wheeler shouted. Hermione eyed him uncomfortably. His mask had fallen off in the fight, and he resembled Scabior, the lead Snatcher that had captured her and the others and hauled them off to Malfoy Manor.

“Yes, we know,” Tik Tok deadpanned, tightening his grip. He held the Wheeler out with one hand, and the cauldron menacingly with the other. "But I am not alive, so I can not feel sorry or angry."

“Just you wait till I get outta this mess!” yelled the Wheeler. "You're gonna be scrapped garbage and girly here is - _urk!"_

Tik Tok knocked the cauldron into the Wheeler's head with a loud _thunk_.

Hermione hesitantly came down the last few stairs to meet them at the bottom. “What’s happened here? And where is Seto, or the Enchantress?”

Tik Tok roughly shook him. “Answer her.”

The Wheeler shook his head defiantly but Tik Tok wasn’t having any of it.

“ _Answer her_ ,” he said again, raising the arm with the cauldron once more.

 _“Okay, okay,…_ the Nome King conquered Scarletton City…turned everyone to stone.”

“And what about Seto – my friend, or the Enchantress?” said Hermione.

The Wheeler suddenly looked very afraid. “There’s only _one_ person who knows where the Enchantress is…and that’s… _Princess M-M-M….”_ He choked on the last word until it finally blurted out. “ _Princess Mombi!”_

“Princess Mombi?” Hermione said, brow furrowed. “I…don’t remember ever hearing about her…”

Tik Tok pushed the Wheeler forward. “Take us to Mombi.”

Despite it being their first true lead, knowing that this Mombi had some information for them didn’t make Hermione feel better, and instead felt incredibly uneasy about meeting her.

But as the sun started to creep downward in the sky, Hermione swallowed down her nervousness. There was no time to second-guess. She had to keep moving forward.


	8. Chapter 8

Hermione stood at the top of the steps, between the dragon statues, and stared up at the doors to the Crystal Palace. She knew that getting into the castle was going to be a given…at _some_ point, regardless if it helped her find the Enchantress, the ruby slippers, or Seto.

But she didn’t expect Princess Mombi to have residence there. Why didn’t any of the city residents say anything about a princess living within the city limits when they had first arrived? She would have thought _someone_ would have mentioned her. Even if it was the Mayor in his tale of the war and ongoing battle with the Witch of the West.

Although, since it seemed that the Mayor may have had some ulterior motives, it was best to take his words at face value and nothing more.

Hermione lifted a hand and gripped the handle. The palace doors were made of a thick glass with an iron pattern weaving through it. She could see past and into the main chamber of the building, but the hall was empty.

The Wheeler whimpered again, and Hermione glanced back down the steps. His coat was stuck in Tik Tok’s iron grip, and he continuously failed to simply roll himself away.

“Let me go, _please_ let me go…”

Hermione sighed. “It’s fine, Tik Tok…let him go.”

Tik Tok blinked and swiveled his head back to the Wheeler. “You behave yourself.”

“Oh I will,” the Wheeler nodded his head frantically, “I’ll behave!”

Tik Tok made a slight noise that sounded like he didn’t quite believe him, but he then let go of the Wheeler’s coat.

The Wheeler immediately took off laughing. “Ha ha ha, _behave_! Oh yeah, _I’ll behave_! Hee hee hee, _behave, hahaha!”_

Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes at his retreating back. She couldn’t waste any energy on the Wheelers anymore. Hopefully now after their little skirmish with Tik Tok they wouldn’t bother her anymore. “C’mon Tik Tok.”

She waited for him to slowly clomp his way up the steps before pushing open the front doors. Hermione wasn’t quite sure what she expected to see, walking into a palace made of crystal…but dusty floors? Bare interior walls? …Not that.

Staying close to Tik Tok, they slowly went inside. The main hall looked as if no one had ventured through it in ages. Small tables against the walls were devoid of decoration. The floors were dirty enough that she could see hers and Tik Tok’s footprints as they walked.

Did Princess Mombi _really_ live here? Or did the Wheelers trick them into walking right into a trap?

There were no attendants or servants in the palace. If Mombi really was here, did she live here alone? Or, maybe like all of the other citizens of Scarletton City, they were all turned to stone.

A terrible thought suddenly wormed into her mind. What if Princess Mombi _also_ had been turned to stone? The Wheeler said Mombi knew where the Enchantress was. He didn’t say she’d be able to tell them where.

Hermione paused. The other end of the main hall sat alongside a corridor with stairs going up in either direction. Off in the distance, she could hear what sounded like music. Perhaps someone was in the palace after all!

Tik Tok looked one way, then rotated to the other side, and after a moment gestured up the left staircase with the hand still holding the cauldron. “I think we go up these stairs, Her-mione.”

Hermione nodded. “Alright…”

It was clear after a few steps in that direction that this was the correct path to take. The music grew louder and louder until they reached a huge door at the end of the hall, made of gold and crystal. It opened on its own once they were almost right on top of it, and the next room couldn’t have been any more different than the rest of the castle so far.

This room appeared to be some sort of audience chamber, without a speck of visible dust or grime anywhere. A throne sat on a raised dais off to the side, centered along that wall. Mirrors, stretching from the floor to the ceiling, were paneled along each wall and both the ceiling and the floor. There wasn’t a spot she could stand in the room and _not_ see her reflection anywhere.

The doors closed right behind them and Hermione peered back as they sealed shut. This side of the door, like the walls, was a giant mirror. This place was unnerving. It was like being in a funhouse hall of mirrors, only these didn’t distort her appearance.

A woman in a rather ornate dress that reminded her of a peacock with its feathers out and ruffled wide, sat on a red and gold fainting couch in the middle of the chamber, a mandolin in hand.

Hermione slowly crossed the room. The woman was insanely beautiful, with clear porcelain skin and long golden curls, and seemed to ignore her right up to when she and Tik Tok stood before her. Only then did she pause stringing notes on her instrument.

“Excuse me,” said Hermione hesitantly. “Are you…Princess Mombi?”

The woman set the mandolin down on the seat beside her, and raised a hand to her mouth to politely cover her quiet yawn that looked more for show than anything else.

A hand then outstretched to Hermione.

“Help me to rise.”

Her voice was soft-spoken, and melodic sounding. Definitely not what she expected from someone that seemed to be left in charge of things around Scarletton City after the strange disaster. Not to mention the Wheelers seemed too afraid of her to even say her name aloud.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at Tik Tok. He merely blinked back at her. She took the offered hand and the woman easily stood up, and looked curiously at Hermione.

Princess Mombi raised a hand and touched Hermione’s cheek, and Hermione had to resist the urge to be still and not flinch away. “I think I’ll change into someone more… _appropriate_ ,” she said in her soft, whispery voice. Her eyes flitted briefly to Tik Tok before she held out her arm for Hermione to take. “Come with me. Your friend can stay here.”

Hermione let Mombi guide her to the other side of the mirrored hall. “Please, can you help me? I’m looking for someone…”

Mombi didn’t seem to hear her, or chose to ignore it. She reached the edge of the room, and pulled on a tiny door handle easily hidden along the frame of one of the mirror panels. Through the secret door and into…a bedroom?

Hermione couldn’t linger on why she was going into Mombi’s private quarters. She said she was going to change…so, what, were they going into her closet?

Mombi guided her past her opulent bed, set on a raised marble platform, and around a corner and up a couple of steps to a long corridor lined with cabinets.

Once they had entered the corridor, Hermione couldn’t help but stop short, eyes wide, horrified. There were… _fifteen_ windowed cabinets on each side, with the hall dead-ending at one cabinet in the center all the way at the end.

Each one contained a woman’s head.

Mombi tugged at her arm, breaking Hermione from her stupor, but she couldn’t help but stare at the heads as they passed, and came to a stop halfway down the path. The heads were all similar yet different at the same time. Pale, unblemished skin, gorgeous curls. Some blondes, some brunettes, two redheads. Each one just as beautiful as the last.

And the heads were watching her too. None of them said anything, but eyed both Hermione and Mombi as they walked past.

Hermione noticed that each one wore the same sort of collar? Or was it a necklace at the base of their necks? Mombi wasn’t facing her but she imagined that she too wore the same thing and wondered what it was for. Curiously, the 31st cabinet – the one at the very end of the hall, had a mirrored front, hiding the head inside from view.

Mombi stopped before the cabinet labeled 18, and used a ruby key tied to a ribbon around her wrist to open the door. It was empty. “I think Number 4 will do for this afternoon….”

Hermione could only watch, jaw-dropped, as Mombi reached up, gathered her long hair to the base of her neck, and lifted her head from her shoulders and placed it inside the empty cabinet which she then closed and locked. She took a small step back, away from Mombi as her headless body turned and walked to the other side of the hall to her desired cabinet: a raven-haired head with eyes that were confidently watching her.

Mombi unlocked the cabinet, took out the head and held her out to face Hermione. “What do you think?”

Her voice was much stronger, more…assertive than that of soft-spoken Number 18, and Hermione was almost too shocked at what she was seeing to reply. “I-I think you’re very beautiful.”

“I should _hope_ so,” said Number 4’s head as Mombi lifted it up to place on her shoulders. “Now, who are you? What are you doing here?”

“I-I’m Hermione Granger, and I’m looking for my friend, Seto. …And please, what happened to the sapphire road and Scarletton City?”

The head snapped into place with a loud click, and Mombi looked at her with a strange glint in her eyes. “Hermione Granger,” she said in awe. “Come _nearer_.”

She really didn’t _want_ to…but if it humored Mombi and gave her an answer to _any_ of her questions, then fine. Hermione took two small steps forward.

“The Nome King took a stranger and _all_ the sapphires back to his mountain, and turned everyone else to stone,” said Mombi. Her eyes raked over Hermione’s face. “You have been hurt.”

She pointed a perfectly-manicured finger to Hermione’s neck, stopping just shy of touching it. “Who could have done this?”

“…The Witch of the West,” said Hermione, guarded. Mombi sounded… _concerned_ when she saw the bandages, and it didn’t leave a good feeling in the back of her mind.

“Hmm,” Mombi mused. She lightly took hold of Hermione’s chin and raised it up and tilted it gently from side to side, examining her. “You do have a certain _prettiness_ about you. Different from my other heads…”

Hermione felt frozen to the spot.

“…I think I’ll put you in the tower until your wounds have healed and once your head is ready, _I’ll take it_.”

Hermione wrenched herself out of Mombi’s grip. “ _No!”_

She barely had a chance to run back towards the door when Mombi had her wrist in a vice-like grip, her nails digging painfully into her skin, and practically dragged her back down the steps towards the audience chamber.

“ _Tik Tok!”_

“Do not worry, Her-mione, I am coming!” she heard Tik Tok shout from the other room.

Mombi hauled her back into the mirrored hall in time for Tik Tok to quickly raise the cauldron.

“STOP!”

Mombi did, to Hermione’s relief, but it was short-lived as Tik Tok’s arm froze mid-swing.

“Oh dear,” Tik Tok blinked. “My action has run down…I am afraid my fight with the Wheelers has tired me out faster than normal…”

“ _HA!”_ Mombi continued across the room to a separate mirror, opened it and shoved Hermione through. Like the main hall, the winding staircase going up to the tower was coated in dust.

“What are you going to do to him?” Hermione asked.

Mombi snorted. “He makes a good statue for my palace.”

She kicked the door open at the top of the staircase, flung Hermione inside, and slammed the door shut.

Hermione had just enough time to get her balance and rush back to the door as the lock clicked, and with a final “hmph!”, Mombi retreated back downstairs.

Hermione gripped the iron bars on the door. It was the same weaving pattern on the front gates to the castle, but this one had no glass. The lock was halfway down the door, but even with getting her arm through the gaps in the door, she couldn’t twist it around to reach the lock.

_Just wonderful._

With a huff, she turned around to face the room. This place was just as dusty as the rest of the castle. What, did Mombi only clean the audience chamber and her bedroom? Did she not venture anywhere else in this place?

It was clear that, besides everything layered in grime, this particular tower was nothing but storage space. The center of the room was cleared, and all of the furniture had been moved towards the edges. A number of large pieces of art, half-covered by sheets, were propped against the wall. Four large fake palm plants were in the corners. There was only one window on the far wall and it had the same iron decoration as the door.

Hermione crossed the room and blew the dust off the window. From her vantage point she could faintly see the remains of the sapphire road until they disappeared into the woods. The Witch’s castle was off in the distance, and she could only stare, mouth slightly agape. She…she and Seto had just _left_ the castle. It was only a day ago.

Now? It was nothing more than a ruin.

But beyond it? She remembered from her short visit in the Witch’s tower that there was a desert beyond the castle. It was visible from here. And after that? The mountains.

She sighed. The _Nome King’s_ mountain no doubt. That’s where Seto was taken…but it was so far away. It would be impossible to travel all the way through the woods and across the desert to rescue him in time.

Hermione rubbed at her arms. The tower was drafty, but unlike the Wicked Witch’s prison, this at least had _stuff_ in it. Maybe there was something here that she could use to get herself out.

She turned away from the window, and her eyes were drawn to a large portrait hanging on the wall. It appeared to have been painted from within the audience chamber downstairs for she recognized the throne in the background.

Standing before it was a woman with pale skin and long silvery hair. Whoever it was, it wasn’t someone she recognized, but Hermione could tell this person wasn’t one of the many heads in Mombi’s chambers downstairs.

The woman looked ethereal with her silver locks, bright blue eyes, and a flowing white gown. Clasped loosely in her hands in front of her was a golden wand.

Hermione continued to stare at the portrait. Was this the Enchantress?

“Hello?”

Hermione whirled around. She didn’t remember seeing anyone else in here. Just some old antiques. So where did the voice come from?

“Hello?” said the voice again. “Is someone there?”

Okay, now she _knew_ she wasn’t hearing things, and stepped further into the center of the room. “Who’s there?”

Propped up against an old dresser was a rather strange sight. It was a person – or, at least she _thought_ it was – whose body was formed entirely from twigs and tree bark. It wore patch-ridden clothes that reminded Hermione incredibly of Jonouchi, but there was one big difference. This… _thing_ ’s head was a carved pumpkin.

“Oh,” said the voice, and it _definitely_ came from the pumpkin, and she noted how sad it sounded. “You’re not my brothers….”

“No…I’m not,” she said. “I’m Hermione Granger. Who are you?”

“My name’s Roonil. Roonil Waslib,” said the pumpkin. It looked down at the ground. “Say…you wouldn’t mind putting me back together, would you? I seem to have lost something.”

“Hm – oh, of course.” Hermione sidestepped around Roonil’s incredibly long legs splayed out in front of him and picked up the arm that had fallen off. She knelt down beside him to tie it back on, and noticed for the first time that the pumpkin had spots, almost like freckles, around its surface. The leaf stuck to the pumpkin’s stem was a vibrant red rather than a usual green. “How did you end up here?”

“My brothers, Gred and Forge, built me as a prank for the Mayor of Scarletton City. But then afterwards they moved me here to the Palace where that awful witch Mombi would meet me, to scare her. And she was scared all right…and then became angry…you know she has a terrible temper. But anyway, she was going to get rid of me with her magic, but then decided to try out some Powder of Life she bought from a foreign merchant. And here I am!”

Hermione paused. “Powder of Life?”

Roonil made a wiggling motion with his twiggy fingers. “You sprinkle it on something, and the thing comes to life!” He shrugged. “Anyway…she later threw me in here and said she was going to make a pie out of me, but she was wearing Head 22 at the time and must not have put it on since because she hasn’t remembered I’m up here!”

She reached across him to tighten the rope binding his one leg together. “Where did she get all of those heads, anyway?”

Roonil pointed towards the window. “Have you seen the headless dancing girls outside?”

Hermione nodded, eyes wide. “She…just _took_ them? Just like that?”

“Just like that.”

Hermione sank down onto one of the old sofas. How easy will it be for Mombi to return to the tower and claim her head for the collection? Would she even feel it?

Her eyes darted to the window. The sun was starting to set against the mountains. _If I even live that long…_ The Shadow Magus was more likely to appear out of nowhere again to tell her she had lost the penalty game before her neck healed enough for Mombi to take.

Roonil sat down next to her. “So, Hermione, how did _you_ end up here? I’m surprised you weren’t turned to stone like my brothers and everyone else in the town.”

Hermione sighed. “My friend, Seto, was taken, and I was told that Princess Mombi knew where he was. I found out that he’s trapped in the Nome Kingdom, but now Mombi wants my head. I need to get out of here and save him, but I’m running out of time….”

She looked at Roonil. “Even if we get out of here, you don’t know of a quick way to cross the desert, do you?”

“You can’t mean the Deadly Desert,” said Roonil. “ _No one_ can cross the Deadly Desert!”

Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”

“It’s impossible! Anything living that touches it turns to sand.”

Her jaw dropped. Sure, the Wheelers threatened to throw her into it before, but the Wicked Witch was going to have the Wheelers take her to the Nome Kingdom. Which means unless _they_ were immune to the desert trap, they must have a way of getting around it. At the very least transport people _across_ it.

But even if there was some sort of secret path to safely cross, on foot it would still take too long.

Unless…they went _over_ it.

She dismissed the thought almost instantly. The only thing she had seen flying in this world were the Wicked Witch’s cat demons. And with her death, they all vanished. So unless she found something else that was capable of flight….

Hermione wrung her fingers together and took another long, surveying look around the room. A coil of rope was in the corner behind the door. Several mismatched sofas were scattered around. A moose head was mounted high on a side wall.

She glanced back at the door. She couldn’t do anything from this room, and her arms couldn’t twist around far enough to reach the latch on the other side. But Roonil? His arms were merely long branches. They could fit through the bars with ease.

An idea started to manifest inside her head. It was a ridiculous plan, that couldn’t _possibly_ work…but it was either try it, or let Mombi and the Shadow Magus win.

Seto was probably counting on her to get him out – she couldn’t let him down. 

“…Roonil…that Powder of Life that Mombi had…do you know if there’s any more?”

“If there is, it’ll be in Cabinet 31, with her original head. Why do you ask?”

Hermione bit her lip. “It’s crazy, maybe _too crazy_ …but I think I have a way out of here. Are your arms able to reach the lock outside the door?”

“I think so. What’s the plan?”

“We’d have to wait for nightfall, after we’re sure Mombi has gone to bed…but this is what I’m thinking….”

* * *

As she thought, Roonil was able to maneuver his arm around the iron bars and flip the lock with relative ease. At first, she wasn’t sure how graceful Roonil would be. He reminded her terribly of Jonouchi. But unlike Jou, Roonil seemed rather…top-heavy. Just by looking at him, she expected his pumpkin-head to weigh down the rest of his body, but it didn’t seem to be the case.

It was funny in a way that this being, a bunch of tree branches held together more or less by string and magic, was able to support a massive jack-o-lantern for a head and have better mobility than a scarecrow built more or less the same as a human.

They reached the bottom of the tower and Hermione lightly pushed on the door leading back into the audience chamber, crossing her fingers that they did wait long enough for Mombi to leave. If she was still sitting on her couch playing her mandolin, the plan would be ruined in a heartbeat, and no doubt Mombi would have her head in an instant, regardless of how burned her skin still was.

To her relief, the hall was dark and silent.

They crept around the throne and to the other side of the room. The mandolin was left behind on Mombi’s couch.

“Ooh, so _that’s_ Tik Tok?” asked Roonil, excitedly.

Hermione turned around, her finger raised to her lips and nodded. She reached Tik Tok first, and knelt by his ear.

“Tik Tok – can you hear me?”

He didn’t make any move to have heard her, and then she remembered his action key had run down.

She quickly started working on his action key first. “Don’t talk, just listen. This is Roonil…”

Tik Tok swiveled his head to the side. Roonil waved a hand.

“…We have a plan to get out of here and find Seto. Follow him upstairs and he’ll tell you what we have to do. I have to find something here, and then I’ll join you.”

With his speech and action completely wound up, she took a few steps back and watched as Roonil led Tik Tok back towards the tower. Tik Tok’s feet still clomped loudly over the floors no matter how gently the springs in his legs tried to work. If moving quietly was even a possibility for him. She cringed and looked to where Mombi’s bedroom was located. Hopefully the sound of his footsteps wouldn’t wake her.

The moment that the door to the tower closed behind them, Hermione carefully opened the mirror leading to Mombi’s chambers and tiptoed inside. She could hear Mombi snoring from the bed in the center of the room as she inched closer and closer, and finally took the step up onto the marble platform.

She crouched down along the side of the bed, her heart racing. It had to be beating loud enough for Mombi to hear her. Thank goodness for the snores, because otherwise she felt as though Mombi would simply hear her breathing.

Hermione rested her hands against the silky bedsheet and stared at Mombi’s sleeping form. Mercifully, she picked the right side of the bed to stay on – the wrist with the ruby key tied to it was within her reach. But she couldn’t help but feel a bit disturbed by the rest of her sight.

Mombi was sleeping without wearing one of the heads. The pillow at her shoulders looked to be completely untouched. But…if she wasn’t wearing a head, then how could she be snoring?

Hermione shook her head. No time to wonder about it.

She bit her lip and slowly reached in. Her hands were shaking as she tried to pick apart the knot on the key’s ribbon.

_Please,_ she begged to herself, _let her be a heavy sleeper…_

Mombi suddenly snorted loudly, shifting in bed, and Hermione quickly ducked out of sight, her heart pounding in its attempt to escape right through her ribcage.

She stayed put for several seconds until she worked up the courage to creep up and continue working on the knot. Mombi’s hand, thankfully, didn’t move. She had the loop of the knot on the ribbon undone. Now she just had to tug it off.

Hermione forced her hands to steady, gently pinched the ribbon folded against Mombi’s wrist, and pulled on it, while keeping an eye on Mombi’s body. It kept on snoring.

She had just enough time to lift her hands away when Mombi moved suddenly, turning over in bed, and Hermione quickly dropped back to the floor and out of sight.

Did she get too close? Did Mombi feel her work the knot apart?

It wasn’t until she heard Mombi’s snores even out again did she lift her head over the edge of the bed. Mombi had flipped, the arm that wore the key now on the complete other side.

But the key was still attached to the ribbon, abandoned on the bedcovers where her hand used to lay.

Hermione’s eyes widened as she reached for the key. A stroke of good luck!

She clutched it tightly in her hand as she slowly got to her feet and moved as quietly as possible towards the stairs. Sure, she had the key, but that was only the first step. There were still a number of things that could go wrong before she found the Powder of Life – assuming it even was where Roonil thought it to be.

But her single stroke of good luck seemed to double as she reached the top step and stood out, facing the darkened hallway of heads.

They were _all_ asleep. Which meant no one would be tipping off Mombi early that she got out of the tower.

…So long as they _stayed_ asleep, that is.

Hermione couldn’t help but put a hand against her own neck, swallowing uncomfortably as she moved down the hall towards Cabinet 31. These were once all separate people, but now they were _all_ Mombi, whenever she wore them. How did that work? If she lost her own head, would she lose herself too, and just become glorified decoration for Mombi’s shoulders? What if someone restored her own head? Would there be anything of her left?

She wrinkled her nose at the thought once she passed Cabinets 3 and 4. She probably wouldn’t know. Odds are, if she lost her head, even if through completely magical means, the Shadow Magus would treat the whole thing as his own victory. If Seto couldn’t get out of wherever he was, and she lost her head or was turned to stone or sand or _whatever_ terrible fate she could dream up, there would be no one left to save either of them. They’d both just be dead.

Hermione looked down at the key in her hand. It was probably best not to think about that.

Cabinet 31 was in the dead center of the hallway, flanked by Cabinets 29 and 30, and she tilted her head curiously at why this particular cabinet didn’t have the same glass front as all the others. Did Mombi not like to look at her own head?

A terrible thought wormed its way into her mind as she hovered the key in front of the lock. What if Mombi’s original head wasn’t in there, but the woman from the portrait upstairs was? What if Mombi got to the Enchantress before they could? Assuming that woman was the Enchantress in the first place….

She then froze. What if…she and Seto had absorbed some of the information wrong this entire time. What if…Mombi _was_ the Enchantress? No one ever mentioned the woman by her real name before…and this _was_ her palace….

…and if _that_ was the case…were they supposed to deliver the ruby slippers to this head-stealing witch? Perhaps they had the entire point of the penalty game wrong from the start!

Hermione quickly shook her head. Something to worry about later. There was no telling what sort of abuse Seto could be dealing with in the Nome Kingdom, and she couldn’t waste the time dwelling on that at the moment either. Now, once she was out and on her way to the mountains? That was a different story.

The key moved smoothly into the lock, and she held her breath as the lock gave a quiet click that seemed to go unheard by the other sleeping heads. With the key still trapped in the lock, she pulled gently to open the cabinet, and couldn’t believe the lucky break she had once again, as the door swung open silently.

At this rate, she could grab the Powder of Life, return to the Tower, and make her bid for freedom before anyone was any wiser.

The notion was gone from her mind just as fast as it had come along. The cabinet hadn’t even opened the entire way, just enough to see the head resting inside, and Hermione immediately had to raise a hand to her mouth to stifle the loud gasp that forced itself out. She shrank back a step, the color draining from her face.

The head in Cabinet 31 looked _exactly_ like Bellatrix Lestrange.

_“WHERE DID YOU GET THAT SWORD?”_

_“WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU TAKEN FROM MY VAULT!?”_

“ _TELL ME THE TRUTH, YOU FILTHY MUDBLOOD, OR I WILL RUN YOU THROUGH WITH THIS KNIFE!”_

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep her memories of the hours spent on the floor in the Malfoys’ drawing room to the back of her mind, but like the night spent in Anzu’s inn, they kept floating up to the forefront. She pressed her left arm into her body, and her other hand moved back against her throat as the echoes of her past screams bounced around her head. Buried under her new bandages and the burns left by the Wicked Witch was the slice Bellatrix made when Yugi and Ron had burst into the drawing room, moments before the chandelier fell. 

She took several deep breaths. _Come on, Hermione, you’re not there anymore_! But it was so hard to convince herself when the red light of the Cruciatus curse kept flashing behind her eyelids. That and _feeling_ as if she was back in the Malfoy home, pinned down and unable to move while _Mudblood_ was carved into her arm.

Her heart felt like it was trying to pound its way out of her chest when she finally forced her eyes back open.

Mombi’s head, mercifully, was asleep like all of the others. It wasn’t set on a pedestal, but just left slumped in the corner of the cabinet. Around it were a number of small potions bottles and trinkets, and to Hermione’s horror, a small skull that she could only _hope_ wasn’t real. It seemed like this cabinet was used more for storage than anything else. Why anyone would keep a small animal skull right next to their head was anyone’s guess. She tried not to look at it.

The Powder of Life was sitting right next to Mombi’s head in the back of the cabinet.

Hermione cringed and started to reach inside, her hand trembling. There was no way to make a grab for the Powder of Life without passing a shadow over Bellatr—no, _Mombi’s_ eyes. She bit down on her lip. Hopefully it wouldn’t wake her up; finding out how close this lookalike was to the real Bellatrix Lestrange was the _last_ thing she needed right now.

Her fingers had almost closed around the Powder of Life when Mombi’s head twitched. It didn’t wake, but shifted enough that Hermione panicked and drew her hand back…

…and knocked over a small bottle with a quiet rattle.

Mombi’s eyes flew open.

Hermione froze.

Mombi blinked up at her before her face formed a vicious scowl. “ _Hermione Granger_!” she said in a slow, menacing growl.

Movement caught the edge of her vision, and Hermione glanced around wildly. _All_ of the other heads were awake now.

It was now or never. She reached back into the cabinet for the Powder of Life, and let out a tiny shriek as Mombi’s head attempted to bite her hand as she pulled out the canister. Once her arm was clear, she slammed the door to the cabinet shut as Mombi screamed her name once more, in the same horrid tone that the real Bellatrix shouted while she loomed over her mere days ago.

_No_! Hermione leaned against the mirrored cabinet, both to brace herself, and the door. She had no idea if a disembodied head could move on its own, and she _really_ didn’t want to find out right here and now if it could get through the door.

All of the other heads then started screaming her name in an out-of-sync, high-pitched assault on her ears, and she whirled around to face the end of the hall.

Mombi’s body was _also_ awake. It rose from the bed and shuffled up to the corridor, arms raised out in front of her, zombie-like.

This wasn’t the first time she had seen Mombi’s body move without a head – she did so earlier that day, but then her back was to her. Seeing it practically stumble its way towards her…was something else entirely. The base of the body’s neck had the same sort of collar as all of the other heads, and Hermione could only stand there, frozen to the spot, feeling as if the Shadow Magus had dumped her into one of the Muggle horror movies she had once caught her father watching while on holiday from Hogwarts.

She watched as the body kept going, practically _gliding_ across the floor. Was Mombi coming for her? Could Mombi even _see_ her? Or was she coming for her original head – or _any_ head for that matter? Just something to get on her shoulders so she could lock her back in the tower?

Or maybe Mombi would just forego the tower and just steal _her_ head right here in front of thirty witnesses.

Bellatrix’s voice roared out her name again, and Hermione blinked herself out of her stupor. Mombi’s body was halfway across the hall. At this rate, it would be on her in moments. She had to move. _Now_.

Hermione had just enough mind to turn around, quickly pull the key from the lock, and _run_. She ducked under Mombi’s outstretched arms that mercifully didn’t move from their rigid pose straight out in front, and bolted for the mirrored door going back to the audience chamber, letting the sounds of all of the wailing heads fade away.

She quickly crossed the hall and stopped at the other end. The mirror in front of her didn’t have the near-secret handle to open the door to the tower.

“WHAT DID YOU TAKE FROM MY VAULT?!”

Mombi’s voice echoed through the hall, and Hermione glanced back, eyes wide. Surely she couldn’t get into any of the cabinets for a head…not without the ruby key.

Hermione turned back to the mirror. It was harder to see in the dark, but the door handle was _definitely_ missing. Was this not the mirror she had come through before?

She moved down to the next mirror, but that didn’t have the door handle on it either. Which one was it!?

The door to Mombi’s room was still wide open from when she had burst through it, and Hermione gasped upon hearing what sounded like shattered glass coming from that direction.

“C’mon…” Hermione muttered, and she moved frantically down the line of mirrors along the wall. One of them had to be the right one!

“WHERE’S MY POWDER OF LIFE!?”

She quickly looked back towards Mombi’s chambers. The witch hadn’t appeared, not yet. If there was anything still going for her tonight, perhaps Mombi was still headless. But the glass shattering didn’t leave her with too much hope. Mombi was likely going to bust her way into one of the cabinets, and then her first stop was going to be the tower.

A glimmer of light caught Hermione’s eye in the dark and she stopped, rooted to the spot. The blue wisp, the same one she saw in the Wicked Witch’s castle was floating in a mirror five panes away. What was it doing here?!

The ghostly wisp seemed a bit more human this time, but even so, Hermione still couldn’t make out exactly who it was. She watched as the wisp seemed to slide to the far edge of the mirror, pointed to the corner of the framework, and then disappeared again.

It couldn’t be a coincidence that the wisp appeared at this moment. She hurried over to the mirror pane and felt around along the edge until her fingers hit the door handle.

“NO ONE ESCAPES FROM PRINCESS MOMBI!”

Hermione tugged the mirrored door closed behind her and hurried up the steps. _Oh, please let them be finished!_

She threw open the tower door, slammed it shut behind her and sagged against it to catch her breath.

Roonil froze, the moose head in his hands. “Hermione! You’re back!” He tilted his head. “Are you okay?”

Hermione shook her head. “No,” she breathed, “Mombi’s awake!”

“Oh no!” Roonil’s twiggy shoulders slumped. “That’s not good – I’m gonna be a pie for sure!”

Hermione pushed herself off of the door and walked into the middle of the room. “It’s…it’s not finished!”

“We’re almost done,” said Roonil as Tik Tok raised the bit of rope in his hand. “We just need to get the head on…”

Hermione could only stare, mouth slightly agape at their hard work. The idea was to use the items in the room to safely travel across the desert without turning to sand. She really didn’t know what to expect…but this…this certainly wasn’t it.

Two of the antique sofas were pushed together and held together by rope. Some of the palm fronds were tied to the sides of the sofas, and a broomstick was stuck to the rear.

…And Roonil was fastening the head to what she could only hope was the front.

“W-what… _is_ that?”

“It’s our flying machine!” said Roonil. “We were going to try and make a makeshift carriage, with the plant pots for wheels, but this seemed…”

He tapped his fingers against the side of his head. “More…direct!”

“The Powder of Life should be all that is needed now, Her-mione,” said Tik Tok.

“Are you sure this…will work?”

“We do not have the time to come up with a new plan,” said Tik Tok, “We either try this, or let ourselves become captured – again – by Mombi and the Wheelers.”

Hermione quickly pried the lid off of the Powder of Life and began shaking the glittery powder all over the haphazardly-made… _thing_.

She circled around the sofa, making sure to coat as much of it as possible, and dumped an extra heaping over the moose head, but nothing seemed to happen. It didn’t wake up.

“It’s not working!”

Tik Tok’s mustache twitched. “Perhaps there are magic words.”

Hermione looked up at Roonil. “Think, _please_ , you have to remember. What were the words Mombi used to bring you to life?”

Roonil shrugged. “I don’t know! I wasn’t alive then, how could I remember?”

Tik Tok tightened one of the ropes binding the sofas together. “Check the directions.”

She spun the canister around in her hands. “‘Sprinkle lightly one dusting’… _oh! …‘_ Speak the words’….”

Hermione paused. She didn’t recognize the words at all, but she had also spent the last six years studying spells. The pronunciation couldn’t be _that_ difficult.

“‘Weaugh’,” she began, eyeing the moose head, “‘teaugh’…‘peaugh’!”

The moose’s eyes suddenly opened. “ ‘Peaugh’!”

The eye holes in Roonil’s jack-o-lantern face widened in delight. “It worked!”

Glass shattered again from somewhere below them, and Hermione’s eyes darted to the door. Mombi was coming.

“We have to go,” she said, as Roonil helped Tik Tok climb onto the sofas.

“Mr. Moose, can you flap your wings?” said Roonil as Hermione quickly dumped the rest of the Powder of Life onto the palm fronds.

“ _Wings_!?” The moose head snorted. “I don’t have any wings.”

Hermione could hear Mombi storming up the stairs. “Now you do!”

The fronds on either side of the couch start waving up and down. “Oh, look at that, I guess you’re right,” said the Moose.

The door to the tower burst wide open. “HERMIONE GRANGER!”

Mombi was wearing her original head, her eyes wild, and there was a wand – the same golden scepter that was shown in the silver-haired woman’s portrait – in her hand. “ _What_ do you think you’re doing?” she snarled.

Roonil quickly leaned over the front side, flailing his arms. “ _Fly!_ ”

The sofa suddenly rattled as it began waddling back and forth on its legs towards the window.

“Go, go faster!” cried Roonil.

“I haven’t had legs in years,” said the Moose stiffly, “And you lot are heavy!”

Roonil suddenly jumped off the sofa and started pushing it from behind as Mombi stormed inside, but the rug under Roonil’s feet got kicked up and into her face.

Hermione quickly ducked her head down against the side of one of the sofas as the Moose pushed right through the window, raining glass down over them. The sofa went right over the balcony, and then plummeted down the tower towards the ground below, Roonil hanging off the back with his legs waving in the air.

Mombi threw off the rug and ran to the window. She braced her arm on what was left of the frame and peered down, cackling wildly. So much for an attempted escape. At this rate, the walking couch was going to crash, and the Nome King wouldn’t have anyone else to worry about. And if there was anything left of Hermione Granger to peel off of the ground?

_That_ was hers. So long as the head survived, she would remake Cabinet 31 into one final display case….

“Flap your wings, quickly! You _need_ to fly!” Hermione screamed. If the Moose couldn’t get them into the air, then Mombi was going to be the _least_ of her problems.

Tik Tok removed his metal helmet, placed it on Hermione’s head and braced her between his body and the corner of the sofa. “Brace yourselves!”

“ _With what!?”_ Roonil cried.

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut. This makeshift…flying _thing_ , held together by little more than old rope and a string of prayers was going to crash, and with it her chance of getting to the Nome Kingdom…

…until she no longer felt like she was falling, and after a few seconds worked up the courage to peer up over the top of the sofa.

The palm fronds were smoothly flapping back and forth, and they were rising in the air. Tik Tok had swiveled himself around to pull Roonil back on board, and they were gaining distance from Mombi’s tower.

“We did it,” she breathed.

* * *

Mombi stormed out the main doors of the Palace and aimed the golden scepter at the Wheelers sleeping across the main steps.

“Wake up!” She screamed. Lightning erupted from the staff and struck the sidewalk around them. “Wake up, all of you, _get up_!”

The Wheelers jumped and rolled back. “Aw, come on – it’s the middle of the night!”

“ _Look_!” Mombi pointed up in the sky. The flying sofa was already halfway across Scarletton City, heading straight for the Nome King’s mountain. “Hermione Granger and her pitiful friends are escaping!”

Lightning struck the ground near the Wheelers again, and they scattered down the path. “ _Go!_ Get them back here!”

The main Wheeler scowled. “What’s in it for us, anyway?”

Mombi grabbed Scabior by his collar, hoisted him up, and pressed the end of the staff up against his neck. “You get them back for me, and the girl is yours – _after_ I take her head.”

She tossed him down the steps. “ _Go,_ and don’t come back without her!”

* * *

“You know,” said the Moose, “the last thing I remember was walking through the forest and hearing a loud noise…and now I’m flying in the air. What am I now anyhow?”

Hermione looked around at their makeshift plane. How _could_ she describe this? “You’re…just…a _thing_ with a moose’s head on it, I guess. We put you together and brought you to life so you can fly us to the Nome King to rescue Seto.”

“ _Oooh,_ ” the Moose chuckled, “is that what happened! Well…I may not last very long. I don’t feel very well put together….”

Roonil covered his eyes with his hands. “Oh, don’t say that...” He glanced down nervously at the ground below them. “It’s so dark down there. How will we know where to land?”

“The Nome Kingdom was straight ahead,” said Tik Tok. “The best thing would be to keep flying until morning, and then find a safe place to land.”

“Oh that’s fine,” said the Moose, “I don’t think I could turn even if I wanted to!”

Tik Tok turned to Hermione as she handed him back his helmet. “We will likely fly through the rest of the night Her-mione,” he said, “You must rest. There is no telling what dangers we will face once we reach the Nome Kingdom.”

Roonil shifted over to share the other sofa with Tik Tok so she had room to lie down.

“You’ll wake me if we arrive early, won’t you?”

“Of course,” said Roonil. He took off his patchwork vest and draped it over her shoulders. “We’ll keep an eye on things. Just relax.”

Hermione nodded and closed her eyes, trying to focus on the steady whooshing of the sofa’s wings to calm her enough to try and sleep.

Aside from Dolores Umbridge playing the role of the Wicked Witch, everyone of some importance had been someone that Seto mainly knew. But Seto was gone. Was that why the faces, or at the very least, the beings she had come across since the Shadow Magus’s little reset were those _she_ recognized? Tik Tok had the same lightning-bolt scar and green eyes the same shade as Harry’s, and while Ron Weasley never ran around with a pumpkin on his head, Roonil’s head _was_ the same shade of ginger as Ron’s hair, and had freckles in almost the same places.

But Princess Mombi having Bellatrix Lestrange’s face caught her completely off guard and she nearly blew their escape plan. She couldn’t afford to have that happen again.

But who could possibly be in the Nome Kingdom?


	9. Chapter 9

_Egypt_

“That should do,” said Ishizu quietly, handing Bill a roll of gauze. He was sitting up at the head of the bed on Hermione’s other side, applying some sort of orange-colored cream to Hermione’s burns.

“Will that stuff leave a mark?” asked Ron.

“I don’t think so,” said Bill. He pushed the lid back onto his jar of burn-healing paste. “In a way, it’s a good thing she’s not moving around, it should help speed up the healing. Not that we want her to stay this way, but if Hermione is out long enough, the burns may be gone by the time she’s up again.”

“So long as she doesn’t get more of them,” said Ron.

Harry shrugged. “It’s not like they could just tell us what was going on in the Shadow Realm.”

He lost track of how much time had passed since they returned from the tomb, and neither Hermione or Seto had truly stirred. Aside from what looked like spasms whenever the burns worsened around her neck, they were completely still, as if trapped in a deep sleep.

Unlike Hermione, Seto didn’t even twitch once, and Harry wondered if they were even suffering through the same nightmare space. Would one wake up before the other? Would they come around together…or not at all?

He _really_ wished he was there when this shadow game went down. Not because he would likely have been thrown in with them, but at least to _know_ the details of what the Shadow Magus did to them, and he didn’t trust the demon’s words that they were merely ‘playing a game’ to escape.

It couldn’t be _that_ simple.

Since the last of Hermione’s episodes, no one had moved from her side. Well, _almost_. Yugi had left the room to check on Seto, and he assumed he was still there since he hadn’t returned yet.

Harry watched Bill leave Ishizu’s room and his eyes caught sight of the Millennium Ring sitting atop Ryou’s shirt. The Spirit of the Ring knew a lot about shadow games, but even he didn’t have all the answers today. He wasn’t there when the attack happened.

His eyes widened as he shot out of his seat. There _was_ someone with answers…so long as he _also_ wasn’t in the Shadow Realm, and Harry rushed across the hall.

“Yugi!” he said.

Yugi jumped nearly a foot in the air out of his seat, and put a hand against his chest. He had been in the Pharaoh’s soul room, and didn’t even hear Harry come in. “ _Geez, Harry!_ ”

“Sorry, I just thought of something….”

“What?”

Harry pointed to the Millennium Rod. “ _Set_.”

“What about him?”

“The Shadow Magus didn’t say that he was in the Shadow Realm…right?”

Yugi shook his head. “No…just Seto and Hermione.”

Harry nodded. “But I bet Seto had the Millennium Rod when he was captured, right? Maybe Set could do something to help!”

“No one can interfere with the penalty game,” said Yugi. “Not even Set.”

“But he might know something _else_ ,” said Harry, “ _Anything else_ about what might have happened to them.”

Yugi frowned. The Millennium Rod sat idly on Odion’s bedside table. “I don’t know…”

Harry furrowed his brow. He didn’t expect Yugi to be so hesitant over trying to help figure out what was going on. There had to be something else he was missing. “You don’t want to…I don’t know…let him out?”

Yugi smiled awkwardly and looked back at the Millennium Rod. “It’s not that I don’t want to. But…the Pharaoh and I _forced_ the Rod on him when this all started. And I know that Kaiba and Set have had their connection broken and then repaired a few times now…but…”

He glanced back at Seto. “…I can’t just force Set on him. Not again. Kaiba’s mind has been toyed around with way too many times. I know it’s just Set and it’s not the Shadow Magus, but still. It should be Kaiba’s decision to take him back when he’s ready. It’s _his_ body, not Set’s. I have to respect that.”

“So Set doesn’t get a say in any of this? What if he really _could_ help?”

Yugi got up from his seat. “It’s not my place, Harry. Set and Kaiba may have a link, but they’re relationship isn’t the same as the one I share with the Pharaoh. ”

Yugi turned back once he was at the door. “Besides, the Millennium Rod has been at his side the entire time. If Set wanted to force himself out, he would have already.”

Harry watched him leave the room, and slumped back against the wall.

“Well, _that_ went over well,” he muttered under his breath. Harry reached over and picked up the Millennium Rod. “What about you? Do you always just sit in there, waiting for Seto to _want_ to have you around? How do you not go mad in there?”

He wasn’t surprised at all that Set didn’t answer him. How could he? It wasn’t as if _he_ could connect to the Millennium Rod.

Harry sighed. “I…just wish there was a way to help.”

He started to set the Millennium Rod back on the bedside table when it suddenly started to glow, staying active for several seconds before returning to normal again.

Harry’s eyes widened. Was that some sort of sign? “C-can you hear me? Eh…one flash for yes? Two for no?”

The response? One quick golden flare.

Harry’s jaw dropped. “Uh…okay. Are you able to come out?”

Two flares.

“It’s because of the Shadow Magus…right? Is there anything you can tell us about it?”

One flare. …And then two flares.

Harry looked to the doorway. Yugi hadn’t come back yet.

He bit his lip and looked down at the Rod. There was no telling how long Seto and Hermione would be stuck in this weird game, and she already suffered burns on at _least_ her neck. What if there were others that they couldn’t see? What if they became worse?

Harry sighed. He would rather have Seto be angry with him than let him and Hermione succumb to whatever else the Shadow Magus had in store for them. And at least the burden of guilt for doing his next move wouldn’t be on Yugi anymore, but himself.

If it brought them back, he could deal with it.

His mind made up, Harry pressed the Millennium Rod into Seto’s left hand.

* * *

Tik Tok peered over the side of the sofa at the faint sound of screeching coming from the ground below, and his mustache twitched. “Hm….”

“What is it?” Roonil asked quietly.

“Wheelers,” said Tik Tok. “It looks like they have followed us from Scarletton City. Mombi probably sent them after us.”

“Oh no…” Roonil turned to the front of their ragtag flying machine. “Hey, Mr. Moose, can you fly faster?”

The Moose snorted. “Not unless one of you wants to jump off.”

“Well…Tik Tok… _you’re_ the heaviest…”

“Hmph!” Tik Tok swiveled around to face away from him and looked on ahead. The Nome Kingdom was still a good way off, and they were flying over the last bit of forest. The rest of their journey would take them over the Deadly Desert. “We will not have to worry about them for long, Roonil. They cannot pass over the desert.”

“Oh, good,” Roonil sagged back against the cushions. “Hopefully _we_ make it. I don’t want to go back to being a decoration, I kind of like being alive.”

* * *

_She whimpered as the curse was let up, but couldn’t move from her spot on the floor. Bellatrix Lestrange straddled her waist, one arm holding down the arm that wasn’t bleeding, and the other clutching her silver knife._

_“I’m only going to ask one more time, Mudblood, **what did you take from my vault?** ”_

_“Nothing!” she wailed as Bellatrix let go of her wrist._

_“Wrong answer,” she snapped, and dragged her knife into Hermione’s arm again, carving a fourth letter, and Hermione screamed again._

_“Now now, Bella,” said Voldemort, circling around them. “I believe we still need the right persuasion.” He looked to Pettigrew, standing in the corner. “Bring up another.”_

_Bellatrix reached over, grabbed hold of Hermione’s head and twisted it to the side, forcing her to look towards the entrance to the cellar. “Watch carefully.”_

_Every inch of her body felt like it was on fire, and she could barely keep her eyes open, struggling futilely under Bellatrix’s grip._

_A door slammed shut somewhere outside of her vision and then Ryou was dragged upstairs and thrown to the floor. He was barely conscious._

_“N-no,” Hermione moaned weakly, and Bellatrix tightened the grip on her head, shaking it roughly._

_“Shh,” she hissed._

_“It need not come to this,” said Voldemort softly, drawing his wand from his robes. He knelt down and dangled the remnants of Slytherin’s locket in her line of sight. “Just tell me what else of mine you and your friends have destroyed.”_

_Hermione shook her head against Bellatrix’s hold. “P-please,” she wailed, “We didn’t do anything to it…”_

_“LIES!” Bellatrix roared, and brought her knife down again, scratching an “L” into Hermione’s forearm, causing another round of screams and uncontrollable tremors._

_“A pity,” said Voldemort. He rose to his feet, quickly rounded on Ryou and aimed his wand._

_Her eyes squeezed shut, crying, she didn’t catch the light that erupted from Voldemort’s wand. But when she dared look back, Ryou was unmoving on the ground. Pettigrew moved forward and pushed him across the floor with his foot until he came to rest beside Ron’s body._

_Yugi was brought up next, his hands clutching the chain of the Puzzle leaving him in a chokehold as Lucius Malfoy hauled him into the drawing room._

_Footsteps suddenly sounded across the gleaming hardwood floor and to Hermione’s surprise it wasn’t a Death Eater that crossed the room towards Yugi, or even Voldemort._

_It was Seto._

_From her limited purview she saw the Millennium Rod hanging off his belt, and a glowing sword in his hand. When Yugi saw him approach, the little color that was left in his face drained away._

_“K-Kaiba, stop!”_

_Seto did, mere steps from Yugi, and he tilted his head ever so slightly in Voldemort’s direction, but Hermione couldn’t see his face._

_“One more time, Hermione Granger,” said Voldemort. “What were you doing in Gringotts?”_

_“We weren’t there!” Hermione shrieked, tears streaming down her face as Bellatrix started carving two “O’s” next. “I swear we weren’t in Gringotts!”_

_“Tsk,” Voldemort shook his head. “Another soul lost.”_

_Seto raised the sword higher and Yugi thrashed against Malfoy’s hold on him. “Kaiba, stop! Ple—urk!”_

_“NO!” Hermione screamed. Despite Bellatrix holding her down, her body shook._

_Voldemort circled around her again. “I’m afraid you are the only one left now. But do not worry, I won’t kill you, not yet. I still need Potter, and_ you _are going to lead me right to him.”_

_“N-no,” Hermione cried, “I don’t know where he is.”_

_“Nice try, little Mudblood,” Bellatrix spat, “Where is Potter?”_

_“I don’t know, **please**!” _

“Her-mione!”

_Seto knelt down next to her, brushed away Bellatrix’s arm holding her down, and Hermione’s next breath died away._

_His eyes were blood red. Lifeless._

_“Seto…” she pleaded, “Please….”_

**_“Seto Kaiba_ ** _,” he said, his voice split with the familiar rasp of the Shadow Magus, “ **…is gone.”**_

_He reached around for the Millennium Rod as she felt her body shake again._

“HERMIONE!”

_The Millennium Rod was held out in front of her, the Eye scant inches from her forehead._

_“_ HER-MIONE! WAKE UP!”

Hermione’s eyes flew open and she quickly sat up, breathing heavily, and placed a hand over her chest. Her heart felt like it was going to try and pound its way through her ribcage.

“Hermione!” Roonil cried. He was leaning over the side of their makeshift flying carriage. “We need your help!”

She looked around frantically. Tik Tok was reaching over the opposite sofa, and the entire makeshift plane was shaking violently.

“What’s going on?”

“The ropes are breaking!”

“ _What?”_

“I told you I wasn’t well put together!” said the Moose.

There was no time to dwell on her dream. Hermione quickly reached over the side and fumbled with the knots nearest her, trying to tighten them as fast as possible. She tried to avoid looking down at the ground far below them, but at least they had completely passed over the rest of the Deadly Desert and now looked to be in a colder region. The surface was covered in snow.

She heard a snap from somewhere behind her and the sofa shifted slightly apart.

“The back!” cried the Moose, “The rope on the back!”

“I got it!” said Roonil and not more than ten seconds after he started retying the knots did he let out a terrified scream that somehow sounded farther away than just on the other side of the sofa.

“ _Help!!!”_

“I’m coming!” said Hermione, and leaned over the side. Roonil was holding the ropes together all right…but his head – his head was gone.

“Roonil!?”

“ _Heelllllp meeeeeeeee!”_

Hermione lunged back to the front of the sofa to address the Moose. “Quick, you have to change course – Roonil lost his head over the side!”

“I wasn’t built for turns!”

“Please, you have to try!” said Hermione. “ _Don’t worry, Roonil, we’re coming!”_

The Moose sighed. “Well, okay, but you better hold on, I’m not quite sure how to do this!”

The Moose took a sudden dive and Hermione had to grip the arm of it for dear life. “Do you see him?” she asked, twisting around to look at Tik Tok. He was still leaned over the side, fingers maintaining their tight hold on two different sets of ropes.

“I do not,” said Tik Tok.

“ _Oooh_ ,” Roonil voice was still somewhere below them, but at least it sounded a bit closer than his scream from earlier. “ _I feel so dizzy!”_

“We’re coming to save you, Roonil!” Hermione called. The Moose dove through a thin cloud, and there Roonil was, still falling, head spinning like a top.

“Can you slow down so we can grab him?”

The Moose shook his head. “No can do, if I stop, we fall.”

Hermione bit her lip and shifted into the middle of the sofa to try and get under him. Tik Tok was busy holding the ropes together so it was up to her to catch him. She leaned against the back of her sofa for support and stretched her arms out.

Just a little farther…

Their ride gave an involuntary hard wobble, and Hermione lost her balance just as her fingers brushed against the sides of Roonil’s head. She pulled him down with her, falling hard against the seat and knocking into Roonil’s body. It fell back against the other side of the sofa, and in doing so, lost the grip on the untied rope he was holding onto, and the two sofas completely split apart.

Hermione screamed, letting go of Roonil’s head to grip the couch she was sitting on for dear life as it plummeted. The palm branches had since fallen off – not that it mattered with them only on the one side – and there was nothing else to keep her in the air.

They were too high. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the Shadow Realm’s oblivion to catch and swallow her whole. _I’m sorry, Seto…_

* * *

A low rumbling sounded through the cavern, and Seto slowly blinked his eyes open. Mayor Gozaburo hadn’t returned since giving the shoes to the wall, and the only company he had was whenever that wall shifted its face back around and taunted him with visions of Hermione’s journey.

He watched her flee from some freaky wheeled clowns that made put Lumis and Umbra’s freaky masks to shame, and then she had disappeared into the Palace with some sort of rotund robot. He hadn’t seen anything of her since going inside, but the giant face on the wall had mentioned rather confidently that she wouldn’t progress past some person named Mombi.

Whoever _that_ was.

But that was also several hours ago, and the giant wall face hadn’t visited him since.

His arms ached from being held up for so long. The attempts to get out turned out to be just as futile as back in the tomb. One arm made headway, until a set of hands formed out of the stone behind him and pulled the little slack he originally had back into the wall until his wrists were stuck against it and unable to move at all.

It had been quiet since, until whatever that noise was rattled the chamber. Was he near the supposed slave mines? Did one collapse, or perhaps some of the prisoners tried to escape?

The wall in front of him started to morph again until the giant face came back. **_It will not be much longer now…._**

Seto raised an eyebrow. “Until what?”

**_The end._ **

“Am I supposed to just sit here and wait for whatever that is?”

The wall chuckled darkly but before it could say anything else, the cavern rumbled again, the noise coming from somewhere above them.

Both Seto and the rock looked up.

“What was that?”

The rock blinked at the ceiling.

Another face, much smaller than the one that he had been conversing with appeared on the side wall. _“You called, Your Majesty?”_

Seto narrowed his eyes. The giant face…was the Nome _King_?

**_What is that noise going on up there?_ **

The smaller face glanced upwards. “ _I-I don’t know…”_

**_Well…_ find out.**

Despite the chain binding him to the wall, he flexed his wrists, trying to ease the stiffness out of them. “Trouble with your slave labor?”

**_No…_ **

But the Nome King didn’t say anything else. After several minutes, the smaller face reappeared again.

_“Your Majesty –_ she _is on the surface!”_

The giant rock blinked. **_How is that possible?_**

_“She escaped from Mombi somehow…and managed to cross the Deadly Desert. Now, she is on_ our _mountain…with a small army!”_

Seto broke his attention away from his chains again and his eyes darted to the roof of the chamber. “I thought you said she wouldn’t get out of Scarletton City.”

**_She is more powerful than I thought…_** the Nome King mused as the smaller face disappeared back into the wall. **_That is unexpected, but not unwelcome._**

The giant hand reappeared out of the floor and snapped its fingers. The bindings instantly vanished, and Seto got to his feet, massaging his wrists and eyeing the Nome King warily.

“What are you doing?”

**_It would seem we have guests to greet._ **

The hand and face disappeared and Seto was once again alone.

But he was at least free.

Seto wandered over to the part of the side wall where Gozaburo had come through, keeping a safe distance from the rock. The last thing he needed was a hand (or two…or more) coming out and getting grabby.

As far as he could see there was no way to “open” the wall to get to the hallway on the other side. The weird hands just had to make it themselves.

So unless the Nome King was going to drop Hermione in here with him, she had no way of finding him. And the odds of her hearing him through the wall was pretty slim. They were _inside_ the mountain, not against the paper-thin walls of an office back home.

He would just have to wait until someone opened a wall back up…

* * *

“Hermione!”

There was a gentle nudge at her shoulder,

“Hermione!”

Her brow furrowed as her eyes opened, her head pounding. Roonil and Tik Tok were beside her, standing in the snow.

“Ngh,” she moaned, and slowly sat up. She was sprawled on what remained of one of the sofas, and it definitely looked worse for wear. The cushions had sporadic tears through them, and the back rest on it was completely missing. One of the feet was also cracked and chipped apart.

But she most definitely wasn’t dead.

“What happened?”

“The ropes broke apart, not long after we crossed the Deadly Desert,” said Tik Tok. “Thankfully, we landed here on this cliff.”

Hermione twisted around to look behind her. They were somewhere along the side of the mountain, not at all near the top. The jagged rocks behind them seemed to continue straight up into the clouds. But they were still a fair distance from the ground below.

It was lucky they landed here at all.

She rubbed at her temples. “Is everyone alright?”

They each gave her some sort of answer, but she barely heard them as she closed her eyes, trying to get her headache to pass.

It seemed they were at least physically alright. There was a nice dent in Tik Tok’s helmet, but he still seemed able to move around without difficulty. His gears didn’t appear to be damaged. And sometime during or after their fall from the sky, Roonil had found his head again.

The Moose, however, had fallen off the sofa, and was propped up in the snow against the side of the mountain. 

“What do we do now?” asked Roonil.

She looked around again. Scaling the mountain was a no-go, as was going down. They were stuck.

“I think…” she started, “We ought to tie the Moose back onto the sofa, that way he can at least move around…”

The Moose sighed as Roonil moved to mount him back up again. “Not much room _to_ move around. Imagine if another moose was up here and saw me. I’d die a second time…”

“Somehow,” said Roonil, “I don’t think you have to worry about that up here.”

Above them, the jagged side of the mountain wall began to shift and the face of the Nome King appeared. He blinked down at the sight of a walking dilapidated sofa with a bust mounted on the end and chuckled.

What a strange sight.

**_TELL ME WHO YOU ARE, AND WHY YOU HAVE COME ALL THE WAY TO_ MY _KINGDOM._**

Hermione jumped and whirled around, but there was no one there. They were the only ones standing out in the snow.

“It must be the Nome King,” said Tik Tok.

“The Nome King?” said Roonil. “But where? I don’t see anybody!”

The voice seemed to come from somewhere above them, and Hermione looked up to see the side of the mountain rock formed in the shape of a face. Did…did the _mountain_ itself speak to them?

“I’m Hermione Granger,” she said hesitantly, and the rock blinked at her. _So it_ was _alive. Okay…_.

She gestured to the others. “These are my companions – Tik Tok, Roonil, and…the Moose.”

The Nome King’s brow raised. **_NOT “THE” HERMIONE GRANGER – THE ONE WHO VANQUISHED THE WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST!_**

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Hermione, “We’ve come to ask that you release my friend Seto Kaiba, and restore Scarletton City and the Sapphire Road.”

**_…YOU BELIEVE THAT I HAVE STOLEN SOMETHING…AND YOU WANT ME TO GIVE IT BACK?_ **

Hermione furrowed her brow slightly as she stared up at the Nome King’s face. … _That_ would _be the sensible thing, yeah…_ “Yes, you kidnapped him!”

**AND WHAT IF I DON’T WANT TO?**

Hermione was taken back. _Is he serious?_ She looked around at her friends, swallowed hard and glared up at the Nome King. “…Then _we_ are here…with our army to _force_ you to give him back.” The second the words were out of her mouth she inwardly cringed. A robot and a pumpkin-head man hardly counted as any form of army.

Another blink. **_AN…ARMY…?!_**

Tik Tok clunked his hand against his helmet in a salute.

**_HAHAHA…AN ARMY…._ **

The Nome King’s booming laugh echoed along the mountain, and grew louder and louder until the ground itself seemed to shake.

**_HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!_ **

“Why’s he laughing!” Roonil said, offended, and then scrambled backwards, towards the Moose as loose rocks started falling from up above.

“This is not good,” said Tik Tok.

The cliffside they were standing on gave a violent tremor as part of the ground started cracking apart and disappeared into a dark pit. They shifted away, but with each gasping wheeze by the Nome King, the cracks grew more numerous.

“Hermione – look out!” Roonil reached across the Moose for her but before she could get out the way, the ground completely opened up under her and she screamed, disappearing from sight into the mountain below.

Learning this part of the mountain seemed to be hollow was the weirdest feeling as she fell. The Nome King must be using some sort of magic, because she could tell that she wasn’t dropping at the same speed as she did when the Moose fell apart in the sky.

It almost felt like she was _sliding_ , but there was nothing she can see underneath her.

What was going on?

**_ALL THE PRECIOUS STONES – LIKE THE SAPPHIRES THAT MADE UP THE ROADS THROUGH ŠWT AND THE RUBIES OF SCARLETTON CITY WERE FORMED_ HERE _IN_ MY _MOUNTAINS. ALL WERE MINED FOR_ ME _AND MY NOMES._**

She continued to sort of float-fall through the mountain, passing large concentrations of emeralds sticking out of the rocky wall.

**_SO IMAGINE HOW WE FEEL WHEN SOMEONE FROM THE WORLD ABOVE, DIGS THROUGH_ MY _EARTH AND_ STEALS _THEM FROM US?_**

Hermione frowned and tried to reach for one of the walls to stop her descent but it was too far away. So many different stories about magic stones like the ones that made up the Ruby Slippers. The Witch created them for her sister? The Enchantress held onto them for peace in the lands? Were they really stolen and they belonged here? Or was this a lie too?

**_THEY ALL REALLY BELONG TO ME._ I _AM JUST TAKING BACK WHAT WAS MINE TO BEGIN WITH…_**

**_…_ I _AM NOT THE THIEF._**

The floaty feeling disappeared, and she shrieked as she fell another few seconds until her legs hit something on an angle and she slid down what felt like a slide.

_Finally – solid ground!_ She slid along the floor until she hit something right along the stone wall of a large, open cavern. Something _alive_. And thankfully, it wasn’t made of stone.

She sat up as whoever it was reached for her. The cave was dark, a stark contrast to the daylight from the surface of the mountaintop, and once her eyes adjusted, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Seto!”

He dropped to his knees as she threw her arms around him. _Thank goodness – he’s not hurt!_

_BOOM_!

It sounded as though thunder clouds crashed together from inside the mountain. There was a blinding flash of light, and then the body in front of her was gone and she fell forward, with just enough time to throw her arms out before her face hit the floor.

Hermione sat back up on her knees, and put an arm out in front her. There was nothing there but the wall of the cave, and she rested her hand against the stone. Solid and cold. There was no visible trace that he was even there a moment ago. Was it a trick by the Nome King? Her mind toying with her? …Or was this the Shadow Realm knowing just how to inflict a piercing wound right through her heart? To let her get just enough of a _glimpse_ , and then rip him away once more.

Another rumbling, this one not nearly as loud, and from much closer, sounded right behind her, and she slowly turned around.

The stone wall opposite her was shifting in shape, eerily reminding her of how the brick wall behind the Leaky Cauldron would create the archway into Diagon Alley. Only instead of the doorway, a huge stone face appeared in the wall, blinking with a triumphant smirk on its face.

It looked just like the one that appeared on the side of the mountain.

So this was the Nome King, up close.

A quick glance at the empty wall behind her, and then back to the literal rock face before her. “Where’s Seto?”

The low, booming chuckle echoed throughout the chamber. **_I turned him into an ornament._**

Hermione got her to feet. “You…w _hat?_ ”

**_An ornament,_** said the Nome King, **_A_ knickknack, f _or my palace. I had been planning to do it for some time…and your coming here reminded me. Thank you._**

His eyebrows shot up a moment before the rocks shifted again into a blank wall as Hermione rushed forward angrily and pounded on it, sheer desperation overcoming her need for calm and composure.

“Bring him back!” she cried, “He didn’t steal the sapphires or the rubies! We had nothing to do with that!”

The hall stayed silent, and the Nome King’s face did not return.

Hermione pounded on the wall again. “Bring him back!” Again and again she struck the wall, as her arm felt heavier and heavier with each extra swing.

Was Seto truly gone, trapped forever as a trinket for a stone monster? Is this what was considered losing the Shadow Game? Perhaps he had already lost a long time ago, and he wasn’t even here – and the brief instance of him truly was the Shadow Realm playing its tricks on her.

It wouldn’t surprise her. The Shadow Magus _did_ say he was in “time out”. He never clarified what it actually meant.

But, even if that weren’t the case, what could she do? Her wand wasn’t here. She couldn’t fight – not the way she had seen Seto defend them against the Wicked Witch’s flying cats. Her “army” that the Nome King mentioned – her little ragtag group of companions, were probably long gone by now. After all, the Nome King dropped her deep into his domain, but not the others. Were they still stuck on the top of the mountain? Or were they just disposed of like trash into the poisonous desert?

Hermione hit the wall again, though without most of the force from before, and sank down onto a jutted bit of rock, slicing her hand along a sharp edge of the stone as she went.

Wincing, she brought it closer and examined her palm. The cut was not large, but it was bleeding. She cradled her hand to her chest and bowed her head, her breath hitched. Another injury to add to the list. Hopefully her real body wasn’t taking too much abuse.

Considering this was _supposed_ to be all in her mind, her pain felt so real. And not just the physical, though the cut on her hand and her burns _definitely_ felt real enough. Seeing Bellatrix’s head in Mombi’s palace brought back a number of memories she wasn’t ready to deal with yet. That, coupled with her imagination running wild in all the wrong ways was too much to bear. She couldn’t handle watching Voldemort kill her friends one by one. _Not again_.

Eyes closed, she hugged at her arms. “ _P-please_ ,” she begged, her voice barely above a whisper.

Seto was right about the Shadow Realm. The mind games and the nightmares were enough. She couldn’t go through it again. And now that she was stuck in this mountain, and Seto was likely gone, finishing the Shadow Game before sunset seemed almost impossible.

Would she then, after losing the game, be forced to live through that ordeal over and over and _over_ again? The same nightmare, on repeat, _forever_?

A stray tear streamed down her face. _I can’t do this alone…_

She looked up, startled, as the rumblings of the moving rock were heard somewhere above her. The Nome King’s face returned to the front of the rocky surface, and somewhere lower a giant hand manifested itself, reached out, and patted her shoulder awkwardly. **_There now_ ,** said the Nome King gently. **_I didn’t realize he meant so much to you_.**

Hermione had to strongly resist the urge to roll her eyes at that. By now, everyone - even _Ron_ of all people – knew how close she and Seto had become since the first days of Hogwarts…. Although, the Nome King didn’t have eyes – not _really_ , so either he was being sincere or extremely condescending.

The fact that she couldn’t tell by the inflection in his voice didn’t make her feel any better.

**_There now. Don’t cry. I think I have just the thing to cheer you up_** , the Nome King continued, and he raised a hand, looking off towards the side of the chamber that she had entered from. Numerous hands emerged from the wall, moving the stone around to create an entryway as her companions slid into the room, just as she had moments ago.

“Hermione – there you are!” said Roonil, once he got to his feet. “Are you hurt?”

She shook her head as she rushed forward to help right Tik Tok.

“What is this place?” said Roonil, looking around. “Are we underground?”

“Inside the mountain, I think,” said Hermione, wiping at her cheek.

**_If you are so adamant on saving Seto Kaiba_** _,_ said the Nome King, **_Then I have a marvelous little idea. You and your friends can play a little game to find him. And I’ll bet that you can get him back after all_**. The giant rock face blinked. **_You’d risk something for that, wouldn’t you?_**

Hermione eyed him warily.

The Nome King gestured widely again, and the stone hands emerged once more, sealing the entrance that Tik Tok and Roonil passed through, and created a new one, leading to a corridor that curved out of sight ** _. I will give each of you the chance to inspect my ornament collection. You will have three tries to find him. If you touch the right object and say ‘Check’, then he will be restored and you all may leave my palace. Sound fair enough?_**

Roonil crouched down as best he could to whisper in her ear. “How do we know he just won’t turn us to stone like all the other people?”

Hermione bit her lip. “If…if that were the case, why bother having us go in the ornament room in the first place? He could have done that to us a while ago.”

Tik Tok clomped a step closer. “The Nome King is a very powerful magician. This could be a trick.”

“I don’t see what choice we have,” said Hermione, “We came here to find Seto, and this is the only way we’ll get to do it.”

“The decision is, ultimately, yours,” said Tik Tok, “We will follow your lead.”

Roonil nodded encouragingly. “We made it this far. Whatever happens, we’ll be here with you, Hermione.”

Hermione took a long hard look at the path leading to his ornament room before she turned back to the Nome King. It seemed too simple. There _had_ to be a trick somewhere…but what? And what other course of action was there? It wasn’t as if they could run inside, grab Seto – even as a trinket – and run out in a bid to escape. The Nome King had to reverse the damage he caused, so they would _have_ to play his game.

Even if there was the chance it was rigged.

“Alright, we accept.”

The boom from the Nome King’s hands clapping together echoed throughout the chamber ** _. Oh good! I was hoping you would say that._**

He gestured to the opening, smirking. **_Why doesn’t the…sofa go first?_**

“I don’t have anything to grab with,” said the Moose, “How am I supposed to play this game?”

**_You can use your antlers._ **

The Moose rolled his eyes and then waddled off towards the ornament room. “I should have quit while I was a _head_.”

Roonil raised a hand and waved nervously after him. “Good luck, Mr. Moose!”

Once the Moose had cleared the entranceway, the hands reformed the wall after him, cutting him off from the rest of the group.

The cavern then fell into an uneasy silence, save for the sound of Tik Tok’s feet clomping against the polished stone floor of the cave. A low rumbling echoed through the chamber, dissipated, and then returned again a few minutes later.

Hermione looked about. It was near impossible to tell where the noise had come from. It seemed to be all around them.

Tik Tok suddenly stopped beside her and twitched his mustache. “I wonder,” he said, “The Nome King mentioned a risk. What is it exactly that we’re ris—”

_BOOM!_

It was like when Seto disappeared. Hermione had to shut her eyes against the identical blinding flash of light as the thunderous noise deafened the room.

She turned quickly to the Nome King, and was surprised to see that instead of gaps in the rocky surface meant to mark his eyes or mouth, there was a much more distinguishable face in its place. In fact, there was more of a body now as well. Not a perfect outline by any means, but it was at least distinguishable now.

That wasn’t there before, so what changed?

**_Next!_ **

“What was that?” Hermione asked, and quickly looked back to the hallway. “Where’s the Moose?”

**_I’ve turned him into an ornament._ **

Hermione’s jaw dropped. “ _What_?!”

**_He failed to guess correctly three times, so I’ve added him to my collection._ **

Tik Tok froze.

“Wha – but that’s not fair,” Hermione said, “You didn’t tell us about that!”

The Nome King snorted. **_You didn’t ask! You agreed to this game and its risks without bothering to know the rules. That is not my fault._** He gestured back to the hallway and the hands came back out and formed the door once more. **_Pumpkin-head! You’re next._**

“ _Me!?”_

**_You_ are _the only pumpkin-capped one here._**

Roonil sighed. “Yeah….” He turned to Hermione and placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’ll be okay. We’ll find him, and then you guys can get home again.”

Hermione squeezed Roonil’s bony branches, nodding slightly.

“Be careful,” said Tik-Tok.

“I will.” Roonil shuffled off down the hallway. He stopped halfway from the curve, turned back, and gave a little wave before continuing on again. The hands came back, closed the doorway, and then he was gone.

It seemed the Moose had used up his chances in no time in comparison to how long Roonil was gone without an update. The Nome King just sat there in the wall watching them, but he didn’t announce if Roonil had used up any of three guesses.

Hermione started to twist her wrist around to check her watch, and them remembered that she wasn’t wearing it here in the Shadow Realm. The concept of time or night and day didn’t mean much when they were completely underground.

Hermione sighed and ran a finger along the letters branded into her arm distractedly as Tik Tok paced back and forth in front of the hallway.

“I do not have high hopes for Roonil,” said Tik Tok matter-of-factly, “he is not very… _balanced_. I am more concerned his clumsiness will get the better of him.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” said Hermione, as a low rumbling, almost like distant thunder, sounded from somewhere far off, and she glanced up towards the ceiling of the chamber. Was there a storm raging outside?

**_Two guesses left,_** said the Nome King.

Hermione rubbed at her arms and sighed. She felt helpless, sitting here unable to do anything. All she could do was wait and see if Seto walked back through the doorway with Roonil.

_If_ they walked through the doorway.

Tik Tok shuffled closer to her as the low rumbling was heard again. Roonil only had one guess left.

“How are your gears?”

Tik Tok blinked. “My Think-Works could be tightened.”

She nodded numbly. At least it was something to do. “It’s a shame whoever built you placed these springs where you couldn’t reach them. Most of your trouble comes from you winding down all the time.”

“Hm,” he mused.

The blinding light and deafening boom shook the cavern.

Roonil lost.

Tik-Tok clomped over to the doorway once the hands had finished carving out the opening again. “Do not worry, Her-mione. I will guess correctly.”

Hermione looked him over. Aside from his dented helmet, he seemed fine. The oddly-familiar lightning-shaped crack above his right eye thankfully hadn’t gotten any bigger, but his dull green eyes blinked owlishly at her.

“Is something wrong?” Tik-Tok asked.

Hermione shook her head. “N-no. I…” She sighed heavily and placed both her hands on the mechanical soldier’s shoulders. “Please be careful.”

“You do not need to worry about me, Her-mione,” said Tik-Tok, “I will return shortly.”

* * *

**_Why did you come here?_ **

The Nome King finally spoke up, breaking the eerie silence in the cavern. Tik-Tok had been gone for some time, and there had only been one rumble since he departed for the ornament room. Either he was incredibly indecisive (not likely, for a machine), or he was severely over-strategizing his task.

So while he waited for the cavern to thunder, he sat on his throne and watched. With Roonil the glorified scarecrow gone, his body had mostly formed out of the wall. Once the walking army disappeared, he would be able to move about on his own.

And once _Hermione_ was gone? He would be fully human, and could conquer both the outer reaches of Šwt _and_ the adjoining lands with ease. And with the ruby slippers under his control and the pesky Enchantress gone, _no one_ would be able to stop him.

Hermione had stayed rooted to her spot standing before the closed entranceway to the collection, and the only way he knew that she even heard him was the slight half-turn of her head in his direction. Not a complete turn, she still wouldn’t look at him after the pumpkin-head disappeared, but it didn’t much matter.

Soon there would be no one left.

“You know why,” she said.

The Nome King held out his hand, and a bit of stone morphed into a lit cigar. **_You came all this way…just for him?_**

Hermione shot him a dark look.

But he was not intimidated. **_Are you sure it wasn’t because of these?_**

Several beat pause. He waited for her to turn around, finally giving him a shred of undivided attention, before he shifted, drawing his toes out from under his robes. But even in the darkness of the cavern, there was no mistaking the glittering red shoes on his feet.

Hermione gasped, eyes wide as she took a step closer, only for the Nome King to tuck them back out of sight. “The ruby slippers!”

**_Ah ah,_** he tutted as the second rumbling shook part of the caver ** _._ My _ruby slippers. Imagine my surprise, when they were delivered right into my hands after years of searching,_ waiting _for the Witch to fall._**

Hermione could only stare, mouth slightly agape. _How_? The Nome King wasn’t _anywhere_ in the city when she and Seto returned from the Witch’s castle. Had he been spying on them the entire time, all the way from the mountain? Was that even possible?

**_…They’re very powerful, you know,_** the Nome King continued, gloating. **_They made it possible for me to conquer Scarletton City and its people. And it’s all because of_ you _._**

Hermione looked up at him. “W-what are you talking about?”

**_The Wicked Witch of the West was far too powerful for me to defeat on my own. After all, it would only be a matter of time before the town sent the right little hero – or in this case,_ heroes _– to deal with her. So many have tried and failed to retrieve the ruby slippers before you. But_ you _emerged victorious._**

The Nome King waved the cigar at her. **_Your friend was right not to trust the people in the town. And now,_ I _am the most powerful being in all of Šwt. And you made it possible. So_ thank you _._**

Hermione staggered back. _No…_

Was this all elaborately set up by the Shadow Magus? To send them on a quest with their way home as the ultimate reward, only to yank it right back at the last possible moment? If what the Nome King said was true, then they were played right from the start. The people in the city sent them on the hunt for the ruby slippers. Did they know that the Nome King was after them too?

She looked back towards the ornament room in horror. Tik Tok and Roonil – they might never get out of that place. And Jonouchi, Yuugi, and the others back in the Scarletton City – were they fated to be stone statues forever?

Hermione closed her eyes and felt her breath hitch. _Seto…._ _She_ handed the slippers over…and unknowingly signed _both_ of their death warrants.

The Shadow Magus said they had to win to escape the Penalty Game. And they couldn’t do that trapped as knickknacks for the Nome King to ogle in his downtime.

There was another rumble, but much closer this time, and she glanced back behind her. Another face has appeared in the stone beside the Nome King and was whispering in his ear.

**_Hm…_** He raised his brow and looked curiously at Hermione. **_Your army has stopped guessing, and is standing completely still in the middle of the room._**

She glanced back towards the ornament room, brow furrowed, until she realized just what she had done. “Oh no…”

The Nome King took another long drag on the cigar, watching her.

“I wound up his thought, but not his action,” said Hermione, shoulders slumping. “His movement ran down.”

**_Ah,_** said the Nome King, and he simply gestured towards the newly-made opening to the ornament room. **_Easily remedied. Why don’t you go in and wind him up? Then you can stay and guess for yourself._**

Hermione nodded and started slowly down the hallway. She had nearly rounded the corner when she heard the Nome King call back to her.

**_You don’t have to do it, you know,_** he said, poking the ruby slippers – contrasting wildly against his stone body – out from under his robes. **_I can use the ruby slippers and send you back._ Instantly _. And then you’ll never have to worry about me, or this land ever again._**

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the ruby slippers suspiciously. They had the power to do that? Perhaps they _were_ the endgame mission after all, and she and Seto were really _that_ close to getting out the first time.

Although…it was the slippers that also got them into this mess in the first place.

He held out his hand. **_I can return you home. To your friends who are no doubt_ lost _without you. You can leave Šwt and its troubles behind you forever_**.

There was something rather familiar about what he just said…but she couldn’t place exactly what it was.

“But…” she glanced back towards the ornament room.

**_Forget about him,_** said the Nome King dismissively, **_you can’t help him now._ No one _can. Would you really risk his fate, and remain my prisoner forever when you can be free from my palace right now?_**

“ _No_ ,” Hermione said immediately, louder than she had been the entire time down in the mountain. How would she be able to look at her friends, at _Mokuba_ , and live with herself knowing that she left him behind. They were in this game together, and either she got him out, or she went down fighting. “ _I won’t leave him._ ”

And with that, she turned on her heel and stormed around the corner. The stone hands morphed back out of the wall and began sealing the corridor from the Nome King’s throne as he watched, grinning.

* * *

The Nome King spoke of a collection of treasures. But she didn’t realize just how _vast_ the accumulation of items was until the dark corridor opened up into an enormous chamber with high-vaulted ceilings. It was bright, as if they were somewhere on the surface and not deep underground.

And it was at _least_ twice the size of Hogwarts’ Great Hall.

But the sheer _volume_ of objects here? She was barely two steps into the room and her hopes were dashing away, and _fast_.

There were tables _everywhere_ housing treasures of all kinds. Ashtrays, small sculptures, and sparkly figurines covered all the surfaces. Vases were delicately placed on pedestals. Busts, china, and anything else that she could even dream of seeing as a decoration housed in cabinets.

Chess sets with pieces sculpted out of sparkling crystal, ivory elephant statues, jeweled mirrors and more forged from precious metals.

This room wasn’t as much intimidating as it was _frightening_.

Seto was in here somewhere, and she had only three chances to find him.

Hermione slowly inched her way through the room, weaving around tables. The last thing she needed was to accidentally bump an item off an edge and break it. For all she knew, Seto and the others weren’t the only real people stuck as ornaments, and the thought made her slightly ill.

What if _all_ of the Nome King’s treasures used to be people? What if every object in this room belonged to a person that had wronged him over time? Could they all be the missing citizens that Yuugi and Jonouchi once spoke about when they first met? The magically-gifted adventurers that crossed paths with the Wicked Witch of the West? If any of the mining slaves acted out, were they punished for eternity to sit and collect dust on a fancy table? Would this have been _her_ fate had the Wicked Witch managed to send her off to the Nome Kingdom when she had the chance?

Hermione shook her head, driving the thoughts away. She had to focus. Tik Tok was standing in the middle of the room, where there was a little extra breathing room around the tables. Once he was wound back up, she could start looking for Seto.

A quiet rumble made her look up towards the nearest wall. The stone had shifted slightly, revealing a distorted face. It wasn’t detailed enough to be the Nome King; this must be one of the other Nomes living deep in the mountain.

It was probably the one that alerted the Nome King that Tik Tok had stopped moving. So not only was there immense pressure to find the _right_ ornament, they were being watched, too.

Wonderful.

She circled around Tik Tok and simply stared. All three of his winders were slowly spinning. “Tik Tok,” she said quietly, “You’re all wound up…”

“ _Shhh_ ,” said Tik Tok quietly, “Pretend to wind me up. I have a strategy that might be helpful….”

Hermione placed her hand just above one of the metal knobs and pretended to twist it around.

“I purposely stopped moving so the Nome King would let you in,” said Tik Tok. “I have only one guess left. And while I wish to think that I will be successful, the odds are not in my favor. But, should I guess incorrectly, you can see what sort of object I turn into, and that might give you a clue as to what Seto has become.”

Hermione nodded, and actually wound up his movement knob for good measure. “That’s a good idea.”

Tik Tok glanced around the room and shuffled over to a table full of crystal goblets and rested his hand on one of them. “Ready?”

She held up a hand. “Wait – what have you tried already?”

Tik Tok removed his hand from the goblet and crossed the room. “This vase,” he said, pointing to one encrusted in emeralds. He then had to spin around in a circle several times before spotting his other guess, and waddled over. “This bust.”

Hermione frowned. The two objects were both so different, it didn’t do anything to help narrow any of the other objects out. 

Tik Tok blinked and rested his hand along a ruby elephant. “I am going to choose this one.”

She nodded, hugging her arms to her chest.

“Do not worry, Her-mione,” said Tik-Tok, “This elephant and that plate are the only objects on this table. If I am wrong, it will be clear what I become.”

Tik Tok turned back to the ruby elephant and blinked again. “ _Check_!”

Another thunderous sound, plus the same blinding flash of light she had seen twice now, and then Tik Tok was gone.

Hermione gasped and rushed over to the spot where Tik Tok had stood, and looked down at the table. The ruby elephant and the crystal plate were still the only objects there.

“Tik Tok?”

Hermione looked wildly around the room. Tik Tok was nowhere to be found. And with his ornament resting elsewhere in the room, she had no idea what he had turned into.

And now she was alone, surrounded by hundreds of pieces of decorative china.

She slowly spun around from her spot near the table where Tik Tok had vanished. The smart thing would be to try and take a look around at as many of the objects as possible. Maybe there was some sort of pattern, or an outlier somewhere in here that would give her a clue.

But how much time could she really delegate to this? Finding Seto was going to be pulling a needle from a haystack, and he wasn’t even the final part of the Shadow Game. Whether they had to recover the ruby slippers – again – or find the Enchantress, or even something completely different didn’t matter, she was running out of time regardless.

She sighed and took a circle around the perimeter of the room, stopping before a marble bust on a pedestal wearing a tiara of glittering diamonds and emeralds. There were lots of porcelain china and emerald-decorated items throughout the room. But this was the first item she noted with diamonds. Maybe that was important.

Hermione pressed her lips together in a thin line, placed her hands over the tiara, and closed her eyes.

“Check.”

She heard a slight rumble around the room, the same one from when the others were guessing while she was in the Nome King’s chambers, and opened her eyes. The tiara was still on the bust. Everything else looked the same.

No Seto.

Hermione let her hands fall back to her sides, took a deep breath, and moved on to some of the spindly tables. So far, a large number of little knickknacks. And chess sets – this was the fourth one she had passed. She picked up the knight and examined it. The others were made all out of different materials. This one was made out of crystal, but she remembered seeing stained glass, marble and a wooden one on the other side of the room.

What was interesting was that none of the sets were reset. Each one looked like it was left alone mid-game. Was the Nome King playing with someone?

She set the knight back down in its square. Now she _really_ wished she spent more time watching Harry and Ron play. She knew the basics of the game, but for all she knew there was some kind of clue there and she didn’t know how to decipher it.

Hermione resumed wandering around the room. It felt like every time she did a circle, even through only half of the room, it seemed like an extra table showed up.

How could one person accumulate _this_ much?

She stopped at one of the display cabinets. The top shelves were behind locked glass doors. What were the odds that the Nome King hid Seto in an inaccessible place, just to trick her?

A quick survey of the room showed no less than ten identical cabinets. And they were all locked.

Hermione huffed and leaned against one of the pillars, crossing her arms. Was there anything she was missing about this game? She was already blindsided once.

“You are not guessing.”

She whirled around. The small face in the rock was blinking at her.

“I’m thinking.”

The face sneered. “Think quickly.”

She glanced at the cabinet and then back at the face. “I want to talk to him. The Nome King. I have questions.”

“His Majesty is busy.”

“Is he,” she said flatly. Hermione grabbed the nearest vase off a pedestal and held it over her head. “Get him, or I will start breaking things.”

“If you break the thing your friend – _any –_ of your friends have transformed into, they will not come back. You might kill them.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Hermione snapped. “I’ll be dead by nightfall. But don’t think I won’t take his precious ornaments down with me.”

The face stared at her, unmoving. She glared back and raised the vase higher.

“Put the vase down.”

“ _Get him_ ,” she hissed.

After several seconds, the face disappeared from the wall and she slumped back, lowering the vase back down and against her chest, breathing heavily. The minion watching her really had no obligation to do anything. If she stopped guessing, by her own admission, eventually her time would be up and that would be it.

On the flipside, the odds of her guessing correctly were so small that she was going to die one way or another today anyhow. So it didn’t matter if the Nome King showed his face.

But if she got to at least piss him off, it would be a small consolation.

Several minutes went by before she heard the stone wall begin to morph again and the Nome King’s face appeared.

**_…Is there something wrong?_ **

“I have two questions before I keep going.”

**_Very well._ **

“First,” she gripped the vase tightly, “I need you to be truly honest with me about the terms of this game.”

**_You already know the terms. You have three chances to find him. Lose, and_ I keep you.**

“I need you to be truthful though,” she said, and pointed to the cabinets. “Is Seto, or any of the others, in one of those cabinets?”

**_I am not going to give you a hint._ **

“How is this a hint?” Hermione cried, and waved a hand dramatically. “Look around, there have to be _thousands_ of things in here! There is no possible way for me to win this, but I am not going to go down without trying. But the cabinets are locked. I need to know you didn’t rig the game by placing one of my friends somewhere I can’t reach.”

**_Ah._ **

Hermione raised the vase again.

**_Threatening my treasures will not help you._ **

“It’ll make me feel better,” she muttered.

The Nome King chuckled. **_…I’m sure. Very well. You have my assurance that none of the items behind closed doors are your friends._**

She gave him a hard stare.

**_…You had another question._ **

“Yes,” she said. “You said I had three chances to find Seto.”

**_Yes. You have two left._ **

“I know.” Hermione looked out about the room. “But Tik Tok, Roonil, and the Moose are here too. What if I find someone else?”

**_You are hunting for Seto Kaiba. Not any of the others._ **

“But we didn’t know, when we agreed to this game, that we would end up as objects if we failed.” She took a few steps towards the Nome King. “ _Please_ , I know we didn’t ask about any of that ahead of time. That’s my fault. But…in the search for Seto, if I find one of my other friends, can I continue to guess?”

The Nome King was silent for a minute before nodding. **_I suppose I can allow that. Very well._ If _in one of your three chances, you find_ any _of your friends, you may continue to play until you have three incorrect guesses._**

Hermione didn’t even realize she was holding her breath while waiting for his verdict, and she exhaled loudly, visibly relieved. “ _Thank you_.”

**_But – even if you find someone, they no longer have the power to play. If you make your final guess, and it is_ wrong _, then you_ and _everyone you found will be trapped here in my mountain._**

Hermione nodded. “I understand.”

The Nome King soon vanished again, and she went back around the room, eyeing all the objects again. A ruby dragon statue sat on the edge of a table. Would the Nome King transform Seto into something of some interest to him?

She picked it up. The statue was a miniature of the crystal statues outside the palace in Scarletton City. Biting her lip, she placed her hands on it.

“Check!”

Another low rumble. No Seto.

Hermione bowed her head. _One guess left…._

* * *

_Egypt_

Harry slumped down in the seat Yugi had vacated. He had never seen Seto “re-link” with the Spirit of the Millennium Rod before. But the way Yugi once described joining back up with the Pharaoh after they were once separated was that it was all rather instantaneous. The Puzzle was put back on, and…that was essentially it.

After placing the Millennium Rod back into Seto’s hand, he expected at least _something_ to happen. That was at least thirty minutes ago, but it felt like so much longer just sitting here waiting for _anything_ to change.

Instead, Seto was just as still as before, and after the first quick flare by the Rod once it made contact with him, it too was quiet.

The Spirit _was_ in the Rod though…right? _Scratch that_ , he said to himself, of course Set was. He had a one-sided conversation with him once Yugi left the room. Was Set being as stubborn as Yugi was and choosing not to take action when he confirmed he had information that might have been helpful?

He sighed and reached forward for the Rod. Looks like Yugi wasn’t going to get the chance to be mad at him for trying to force Set back out. Maybe the link couldn’t work because Seto was still trapped in the Shadow Realm.

His fingers had almost closed around the handle when the Rod suddenly flared out and Harry yanked his hand back as if someone had slapped it.

Blue eyes blinked open.

* * *

The more she looked out at everything, the more unnerved she got. There was just too much. Too many plates. Too many glass animals. There was only one shot left, and if she spent too much time looking at everything, she was just going to keep second-guessing her decisions.

That really left only one alternative.

Hermione stepped into the middle of the chamber, where she had originally found Tik Tok. She held her arms straight out in front of her, closed her eyes, and began to spin in a circle.

_Five…four…three…two…one…._

She stopped, didn’t open her eyes, but slowly moved forward, her arms still out ahead.

“ _Oof!”_ She hit the edge of a table. Eyes still shut, she reached out to guide her along the table’s edge until her hand hit something. It was round, smooth, and very light. Her fingers had barely ghosted over it and she heard it topple against the tabletop.

Hermione ran her fingers along it, to try and gauge what it was. Something narrow…no, it got wider, and was hollow on the inside?

She barely opened one eye to peer at it. _Oh, it’s a cup_.

She wrapped her hands around the handle and was about to say what was possibly her last word when her eyes caught something out of the corner of her eye.

Next to the crystal goblet was a chess set. But this one was different than the others. It was not in the midst of a game. All of the pieces were back in their original positions. And the pieces themselves – the other boards had both black and white pieces out of the same material…

_This_ set had glossy onyx pieces on one side, and gold on the other. But the king on the gold side…it was made of sapphire.

_Sapphire?_

Hermione took a look around again. She didn’t remember really seeing sapphire _anything_ around the room. Was it because all of the stones had been taken from the mountain to create the roads throughout Šwt?

But the Nome King took all of them back after they defeated the Wicked Witch. And how strange that only the king was made of the blue stone.

That _had_ to be important.

Her eyes returned to the board and she raised an eyebrow. One of the pieces was also missing. The queen on the gold side.

“I don’t remember the other boards having missing pieces…”

She wandered over to the last chessboard she remembered seeing. It was in a state of play, and captured pieces were off to the side. But a quick count showed all of the pieces were together.

A search of the other chessboards revealed the same thing. All of the pieces were present.

So why was that one set so different?

She went back to the other table and cradled the sapphire king delicately in her shaking hands. There was a hunch, _deep_ in the back of her mind, that this was right. It _had_ to be. There was no way to know of course until she either proved it right…or it wouldn’t matter anymore.

But…her gut was telling her that was Seto. And if chose something else and lost…that _she_ might end up the missing piece on this board.

The queen to match.

_This is it._

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut and took one last, gulping breath.

“ _Check!”_


End file.
